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A HISTORY OF THE
SCOTTISH WOMEN’S
HOSPITALS

EDITED BY

EVA SHAW McLAREN

HODDER AND STOUGHTON
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
1919

MEDAL OF THE SCOPTISH WOMEN’S HOSprEArs.

ome

———— TL

ELSIE MAUD INGLIS
LIVING NOW UNDER WIDER SKIES THAN OURS
THIS RECORD
OF WORK DONE BY THE WOMEN
SHF HELPED TO ORGANIZE AND LEAD
IS
DEDICATED

INTRODUCTION

O claim . sate in following history to a
unique sositi.n for = xe Scottish Women’s
Hospitals. By mai ano'! + organization, started
during the last five os! siory of as great and as

good work could be wld. The material which formed
the persornel of the S.W.H. was the everyday woman
of the Empire, drawn from all classes.

Dr. Inglis, writing on the voyage to Russia, and
describing an obstacle race on board ship, says: “I de
like the modern British girl, with her love of outdoor
sports, her energy, her resource, and her independence.”
To this splendid product of the times, the modern British
girl, with her high courage, her disregard of difficulties,
and her beauty born of strength and health, who formed
the rank and file of the Units, was much of the success
of the S.W.H. due. She was sent out by women of
mature wisdom and experience, and she was led by
some cf the finest women in the Empire.

The story told in the following pages is given,
almost entirely, in the words of the women who did the
work. It was felt that this was the most certain way
of obtaining a living narrative. It falls naturally into
seven parts. An appreciation of Dr. Elsie Inglis stands
in the middle, with chapters on each side describing the
work with which she was most intimately connected.

It was the good fortune of the Scottish Women to
be able to give to the French four years of unin-
terrupted service in France, and over three years in

via

Vili INTRODUCTION

Salonika. With the exception of the first four months,
the Scottish Women worked for the Serbian nation
during the whole war, through all their changing fortunes.
With them they grappled with the dread typhus anc
Overcame it; they accompanied them in the Great
Retreat ; they tended their wounded and prisoners in
Krushevatz, and their refugees in Corsica : they followed
them fighting through the Moglena Mountains : they
strained to keep up with their victorious armies over
crest after crest, in the “breathless rush” to. Prilep,
past Krushevatz and Kraguievatz (names dear to the
Scottish Women), and at the rear of their armies they
entered Belgrade, privileged to stand by them in their
humiliation and to join in their triumph.

The work which fell to be performed by the Scottish
Women’s Hospitals was varied. It ranged from the
organization of a Baby Show held in Corsica, amongst
the Serbian Refugees, to helping to conduct an Army
Division through the length of Russia.

By the courtesy of the Foreign Office in granting
permission for its publication, the story of the diplomatic
work done in Russia by the S.W.H. is told in this
history for the first time. In the tetter to Miss Mair
giving this permission, Lord Curzon expressed his
anxiety “to be of any assistance in the preparation of
a history of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals, of whose
heroic work he has the greatest admiration.”

In a letter addressed to Mr. A. F. Whyte,
by the Secretary of State for War, Mr. Winston
Churchill speaks of his admiration of the services per-
formed by the Scottish Women’s Hospitals in many
fields throughout the war. He writes:

“The record of their work in Russia and Roumania,
lit up by the fame of Dr. Elsie Inglis, will shine in
history. Their achievements in France, in Serbia, in

INTRODUCTION ix

Greece, and in other theatres were no less valuable,
and no body of women has won a higher reputation
for organizing power and for efficacy in works of mercy.
It is a pleasure to me to remember that in the early
days of the war I had the Opportunity of furthering
their efforts.”

Sincere thanks are due not only to the Foreign
Office, but also to all those who were asked, either for
information with regard to the Units or to contribute
to the History, and who in every case responded with
keenness and enthusiasm.

Miss S. E. S. Mair has given the chapter on “ Our
Chief"; Miss Edith Palliser undertook the whole of
Part V ; while to Dr. Marian Erskine and Dr. Beatrice
Russell we owe the arrangement of the Medical
Appendix ; and finally, without the expert help of Miss
Muriel Craigie, the History could not have taken shape.

The world is richer to-day because of the many
heroic figures which have emerged from the wreckage
left by the war: souls nobly efficient because they were
above the petty meannesses of life, humble and fearless.
powerful with the power of self-sacrifice.

To this heroic band it will be the lasting pride of
the Scottish Women that it was their privilege to con-
tribute more than one ; and also that the glorious service
was theirs, of helping in their time of stress, men drawn
without distinction from every one of the Allied Forces.

CONTENTS

PART I
CHAP PAGE
I. THE SCOTTISH FEDERATION ; ; : 1
I]. THE Units FORMING ; ‘ : - ; , 9
III. CALAIS ; ; r : , : , i
PART II

ROYAUMONT

I. DECE? (914-DECEMBER 1915 ; ; ~ if6
II. 1916-1917 ; : . ; : : e 235
III], VILLERS COTTERETS . ; ; As:
IV. ROYAUMONT, 1918 . : i - . ehh
V. CANTEENS. ; ; : : : : : 66

PART III

SERBIA
I. INTRODUCTORY : 3 , ; : , oy,
II. JANUARY-APRIL 1915 ; : ‘ i ‘ cod
III. “THE Lonc, PEACEFUL SUMMER ” ; F ‘ Aion
IV. THE GREAT RETREA1 é ; ; : : ~ fae
V. DR. INGLIS AND Dr. HOLLWay Al KRUSHEVATZ 159

XH CONTENTS

PART IV

race
“OUR CHIEF : . 174
PART \
WITH THE SERB DIVISION IN RUSSIA
AND ROUMANI,A
I. MEtipta ; P toa
Hl. Tut. RETREAT FROM THk DOBRUDIA 1D
ITI BRAILA, GALATZ, AND RENT ‘ +. 203
IV. BACK WITH THE SERB DIVISION , 3 , 214
V. THE Este INGLIS UNIT . - ‘ a 323
PART VI
THE CONTINUED WORK FOR FE RBA
I, CorsICA , ; ‘ 25
Il. Ostrovo ‘ d ; ; : + 243
I. THe TRANSPOR) COLUMNS ; ~ 2FS
IV. VraNnja : ; : ‘ : : , « 307
PART VII
THE GIRTON ANI) NEWNHAM UNIT
J. TROYES AND SALONIKA , . - 329
Il. THE New Sire: THE CALcuTra Or THOPADIC CENTRE © 345
THE ROLL OF HONOER , ; . 360
\DMINISTRATION AND FINANCE ; 362

NG ime
LPPENDIX ‘ . . . « 373

PaGR

174

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THE SCRAP OF PAPER. ; ‘ ; » Frontispiece

FACING FAGE
THE 5S.W.H. MEpbatr : ‘ \
REDUCED FACSIMILE OF DR. INGLIS’ REPORT ‘ ; 10
Miss FRANCES IVENS . : : . 20
FLERKT OF AMBULANCES AT ROVAUMON1 x §89
SIX OF THE ROVAUMONT GIANTS : . + 29
KITCHEN AT ROYAUMONT > . 90
“VETEMENT” DEPARTMENT ‘ 30
“ELSIE INGLIS” WARD . ; 37
Visit or M. POINCARE ‘ . 3
THREE OF (HE CHAUFFEURS . : fae,
VIEW OF THE HOsPmITAL AT VILLERS COTIERETS 44
DOCTORS MAKING FURNITURE . : . 44
GARDENS AT VILLERS COTTERETS ; 44
VIEWS OF THE CLOISTERS AT ROVAUMON1 §5
PRESENTATION OF THE CROIX DE GUERKI =! 86
MAP OF SERBIA 79
DR. ELEANOR SOLTAU . : ‘ ; : co. Ba
IST SERBIAN UNI ‘ ; F . ; ~ 38
MAIN STREET IN KRAGUIEVATZ ; ‘ 3s
STAFF AND PATIENTS AT KRAGUIEVATZ . . « 88
SERBIAN FETE Day ; : : ; patos
DR. INGLIS IN SERBIA . ‘ ; : : . $03
BREAD CART ; ; : , . 103
THE FOUNTAIN AL MLADANOVAIZ * be

XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE

Dr. MCGREGoR’s PARTY DURING THE RETREAT, ‘ - 144

THE GREAT RETREAT , ; ; ; : : . 148

THE GREAT RETREAT , ‘ : : : : + 152

DR. ALICE HUTCHISON . : ; : ‘ : 2 Tee

PLAN OF THE CZAR LAZAR HOSPITAL AND GROUNDS : . 166

DR. INGLIS AND PARTY AT ZuRICH . : ; : - 172

GROUP oF PATIENTS AT SALLANCHES : : ~ 072

DR. ELsig INGLIS 2 - a‘ ; : ; eit et

BUST OF Dr, INGLIS BY MESTROVITCH ; : : * 380
ON THE Way To ODESSA ; : : ; . 184

WINTER at MEJIDIA_, : ; : : + 484

THE HospiraL at MEJIDIA ; ‘ ; ; - 184

MAP OF DOBRUDJA c : ; : : » 195

Miss E. FRANCES ROBINSON, , : : J205

Miss VERA HOLME i F ; : , : = 216

| THE HosPiTa IN Corsica ’ , . 256
| DISPENSARY IN Corsica : . ‘ : - 236
i| THE BABY SHow IN Corsica . ; : : ‘ - 240
Dr. AGNEs BENNETT , : : ‘ : ; » 245
ARRIVAL OF STRETCHER CasEs, OstRovo . 249

| CROWN PRINCE OF SERBIA AT OSTROVO . 254
i THE DRESSING STATION, OstRovo ‘ ; : - 260
YELLAK , 5 : : ; : : * 7283
STARTING ON A CoLp MORNING ; ; : ‘ Ezo2

“THE COLUMN THAT WAS NEVER LaTE” : 7 30

ON THE RoapD TO DUNJE ; ; : : : -.40r

A GRoup oF TENTS AT OSTROVO : i ; ; . 307

VRANJA , . : 307

DR. IsoBEL Ems : : . : : ; : 31g

Miss Louise MCILRoy, M.D., DiSc, 329

THE CAMP ar SALONIKA : . 345

X-RAYS AT ROYAUMONT AND VILLERS COTTERETS . - 381

NG PAGE
144
148

152

HOSPITALS
DESTINATION, DaTE. C.M.O.
CALAIS ... .. . Dec. 1914-March 1915 . Dr. ALICE HUTCHISON
ROYAUMONT . . . Dec. 1914-Feb. 1919. . . Miss IVENS
SERBIA Dec. 1914-Jan. 1916
K IRVATZ Dec. 1914-Nov. 191 f Dr. INcLIs
I. KRAGU Ae . 1914 ~ 1915 rie eae cons
2. VALJEVO . . . May 1915-Nov. 1915 . . . Dr. HUTCHISON
3. MLADANOVATZ . May 1915-Nov. 1915 . . . Dr. MCGREGOR
4. LAZAROVATZ. . Aug. 1915-Nov. IOTS 3. & DrHOLiway
Dr. MCILROY
é weed oo ae May -Oct.
TROYES ay 1915-Oct. 1915 es Bien
SALONIKA .. . . Dec. 1915-March 1919 . . Dr. MCILROY
Dr. BLAIR
Dr. PHILLIFS
CORSICA . . . . . Dec. 1915-April 191g . . ,J Dr. CouRTAULD
Dr. MACPHAIL
Dr. GUEST
Dr. KEER
: Dr. BENNETT
OSTROVO . 2 x, 5. Aan toiecien. 253k. {
Dr. DE GarRIs

* With Transport Column attached

MRANTJAQ =) eg. es ONov: MOLGS Gots Gk oe OS RID Hao

RUSSIAG. a 2 oe Aug. 1916-Nov. 1917 . . . Dr, INGLIS
With Transport Column attached

SERBIA. . . .. . Feb, 1918-Feb. 1919 . . . Dr, BENSON
With Transport Column attached
j Dr. MacPHaIL

SALLANCHES ... Feb. 1918-March 1919 24
(Dr. BULLOCK

* Later this Columa, under Miss Dillon, was attached to the rs¢ Se
XV

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i
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PART ONE

CLAP TBR: I
THE SCOTTISH FEDERATION

URORE. wwas submerged in darkness. War,
Ek horrible and_ hateful, occupied the minds and
hearts of the people.

Righteous though the cause of the Allies was, the
warfare entailed was beyond words terrible. The dark-
ness crew denser, but in the surrounding gloom, through-
out the wide zone of war, shone the beacon lights of the
buildings flying the Red Cross flag.

The spirits of hate and love, cruelty and mercy,
walked side by side on the battlefields. Civilised
nations at war——-what a Strange picture they present!
The peoples march to the battlefields organized to the
utmost limit for the work of slaughter, organized, too, to
the same extent for the work of healing and saving
those that have escaped alive from the carnage. With
all the finished skill they can command, equipped with
the finest science of their day, they use against each
other the most terrible engines of war, till men lie
wounded, and maimed, and blinded, and deafened, and
then they gather together those wounded, and maimed,
and blind, and deaf, and, avain armed with the finest
science of the day, expend the most tender care in the
endeavour to resuscitate the dying, and to heal the

}

Wounded,

{

2 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

The organization for healing is no less finished and
complete than that for destruction.

“Tt is about five o'clock in the afternoon, when the
light fails, that the worst hour in. the hospital begins,
The dim lamps are lighted, and people begin to fall
over things. Also, this is the hour, it seems to me,
when men feel pain most, when the wounded jn beds
and on the floor bezin to cry out. How they suffer!
Here is a youne boy with his eyes shot out, and several
beds in a row contain men with head wounds, the result
of bursting shrapnel overhead. And there are other
cases too pitiful to describe; and men who have lost
their reason; and men moaning for morphia; and a
baby of three ycars with both his legs broken, and a
little Gaidag * hand at which he looks in wonder.

“Tt isn't « good time—war is not a merry picnic.
Blood-covered mattresses and pillows are carried out
into the courtyard. There is always a great pile of rags
and bandaves being burnt outside. A curious smell
pervades everything.

“In the midst of it all, doctors and nurses keep their
heads, and are never tlurried, never less than careful and
attentive. They sit up all night, and in the noisy day-
time get but little sleep; they have become inured to
seeing death and sutferine without being hardened by it,
and their patience is admirable.” !

‘A visitor to an operating theatre in the war zone
might readily imavine he was back again in one of the
famous hospitils of London. or Edinburgh, Paris or
Petrovrad. There he would meet expert surgeons and
physicians, highly traind nurses, and alert and skilful
orderlies, and he would tind an equipment of instruments
and appl inces of the latest design and the finest
material. If he could extend his visit through France

1A Woman's Diary of the War, by S. Macnaughten.

THE SCOTTISH FEDERATION 3

and Belgium, Italy and Austria, Germany, Russia and
Serbia, wherever battles were waged, behind the long
line of fighting he would find the long line of those
well-equipped hospitals, where the highest medical and
surgical skill in Europe was at the disposal of the poor
sullerers.

But amongst them all, at points in Europe far distant
from cach other, he would come upon a certain number of
hospitals with a feature distinguishing them from all the
others. ‘They are evidently equally well equipped, the
staff of doctors and assistants is as expert and capable,
and the strain of the work is met by the same smooth
and rapid efficiency.

What, then, is the distinguishing mark? It is this
they are “manned” from end to end by women, and

women only, Women drivers take the ambulance cars
into the firins line, women. stretcher-bearers Jift. the

wounded, and place them in the ambulances. women
doctors await them in the hospital. It is women who
perform the operations, remaining at work in the theatres.
it may be sometimes thirty-six and fifty hours at a
stretch. \Vomen nurses and orderlics attend the patients

} )

in the wards, women cook the entire food required by
the hospital, and women bury amputated limbs and
carry on disinfecting and other sanitary work, And he
would tind this too—that the scheme for these hospitals
had originated in the brain of a woman, and that they
were equipped and controlled by a women’s society in
Britain.

In a small room up a long flight of stairs in 2 St.
Andrew Square, Edinburgh, a woman, already well
known in the medical world, realised in a flash what an
all-important part women could take in the war. _\s Dr.
['Isie Inglis sat in the offices of the Scottish Federation of

4 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Women's Suffrage Societies, she saw in imagination the
army of women, skilled and unskilled, who only needed
orgitnizing to be broucht into line with the most efficient
service the nation knew. To carry out this organizing
she set to work on the very outbreak of war. She had at
her back the women of the Federated Suffrave Societies
of Scotland, and farther afield the whole force of the
National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies through-
out the United Kingdom,

ftow the scheme of the Hospitals was born and orew
can be gleaned from the minutes of the Federation.

The growth of the idea during one Committee meet-
ing is recorded for us in the minutes of the meetiny held
on 12th Aucust—the first Federation Committee after
war broke out,

“Dr. Inglis proposed that the Federation should
give organized help to Red Cross work.
Miss Mair proposed that St. George's School, Melville
Street, should be applied for and equipped as a [ospital,
Dr. Inehs proposed that Melville Street School be
ipped as a Hy pital staffed entirel; by women—if not

hat home to be sent abroad.”

And so the scheme was launched. © Silver and cold

have we none,” the Scottish Federation micht have
said, “ but such as we have we give to our nation now,”
PRLOUSIASM, Cours, undaunted faith, these were the
ifts they offered, The coffers of the Federation were

t over full, What Sutirage Society ever had them

overiiowing 2? The Suffrage Societies were a body of
women, well) oreanized, srowing in numbers, imbued
with ‘the lony-ranve point of view,” and full of deter-
mination and belief in their cause, but certainly not a
beady receivine much backing from the public, financially
rinany other way, However, once more. the history of

the Scottish Women’e Hospitals was to prove the fact

1 the
eded
clent
Zine
id at
CtIeS

the
ivh-

Tew

eet-
1eld
fter

uld
ille:
fale

not

THE SCOTTISH FEDERATION

)

that money is not everything. Courave, undaunted faith,

and clear vision are of more value. Of these. there w:

no lack in the members who fornoed the Committee

of the Scottish Federation, though even there

SOME

doubted.” When it was stated that a thousand pounds

would need to be raised to equip the one Unit thou

of in these early days, a member, it is reported, droy
her head and moaned, “We micht as well ask |
million at once!”

It was found impossible to obtain the house
Melville Street for a Hospital, and ace

decided to offer the Unit to the \W\ r ort
was declined. It was then resolved too!
one of the Allies. On 20th Aucust, j
that tirst meeting, the following letter

[:mbassies of Belgium, France, and Russia

i Dio: His Ie xcell Hey the Amb tSsa lor I
“Sir,—A number of Sci

their minds to tit out a Red

the seat of war, and to offer it to onc of the (in

involved in the war, [tis possible that you c

us with some veneral information as to the f tion

regard to the Red Cross Service in connect!

ut Wwe sno

in its initial staves at present,
vlad to know whether your Government js
than sufficiently ¢ juipped in connection with it

service. —Yours faithfuliy,

The minutes of the Feds sation m

3rd October, supply the next point of interest, thang!

cht

6 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

the intervening ones mark the steady progress of the
scheme. On the one hand it js evident that plans have
now matured, and the details of the Units have taken
fixed shape ; while on the other we find that the scheme,
hitherto supported only by the branches of the Federa

tion in Scotland, j
Border.

S noW to receive recognition across the

“Dr. Inglis reported in her estimate that a thousand
pounds would be sufficient to equip and pay salaries of
one Unit of too beds for six months.! Each Unit to
consist of four doctors (two sentors and two juniors), ten
trained nurses, six dressers, two cooks, an administrator,
and a clerk. Sugvested that one Unit might vo to
Serbia, where need is very creat.

‘A letter was read from Mrs, Fawcett agreeing that
an appeal for funds for the Hospital Scheme should be
made at the National Union meeting on 20th October
in the Kingsway Hail, London.”

The funds were still low, On 13th October Dr.
Inglis, writing to Mrs. Faweett, says: “In answer to
your Cuestions, first as to the amount of money collected,
up to date we have collected 4115 with all the help
Common Cause has given to us. To-morrow our ‘p-
peal voes broadcast over Scotland, ten thousand ¢ PIES,
and I hope to be able to report progress in a day or
two. ... We are getting a lot of offers of voluntary
service.”

October 20th stands out as a great date in the
history of the S.W.H. On that day Dr. Invlis spoke
at the Kinysway Hall, in London. on behalf of the
Hospitals. Since that date thousands of meetings in aid
of the S.W.H. have been held all over the British
Empire. Miss Burke in America has addressed

'Tt was owing to the number of voluntary workers that Dr. Inglis’
Cstimate was put at so low a nyure as £1000,

THE SCOTTISH FEDERATION 7

audiences of any number up to ten thousand. — Hfer
speeches have aroused unparalleled enthusiasm, as the
resulting contributions show. Mrs. .\bbott in India
and Australia nas addressed meetings which have been
prolific in interest and in funds, one meeting alone in
Calcutta resulting in thirteen thousand pounds. Meetings
have been held in every sort of hall and drawing-room
in every part of the United Kingdom, but friends of the
S.W.H. will always recall with peculiar interest that
meeting held on the 20th of October in the capital of the
Empire, at which for the first time the scheme for taking
aid to the fighting men of the Allies by hospitals staticd
entirely by women was made known by the tounder of
the S.W.H.

From that date money began to flow in, in a steady
stream, until at the end of the war the sum of
£449,000 had been reached. On 20th October a letter
from the Headquarters of the National Union says: “As
the result of your stirring appeal at the meeting at
Kingsway Hall we are receiving at this office a large
number of inquiries about the Scottish Hospital.” Mrs.
Fawcett. who had written to the Zuwxes regarding the
project, writes on 7th November 1914 to Dr. Inglis:
“T think your fund must be well over three thousand.
But we must go on—the more we get the better, for I
feel quite certain that one thousand per unit 1s not
enough. The Finance Department of the National
Union wrote last night that letters and cheques were still
arriving by every post. I am so glad.”

On her return to Scotland, Dr. Inglis formed on 31st
October, out of the Federation and some of her personal
friends, the Scottish Women’s Hospitals Committee, with
Mrs. James T. Hunter of Glasgow as Chairman.’ It was

1 For account of the working of this and other Commitices, see ‘* Adminis-
tration and Finance,” p. 362.

8 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

decided at this meeting that the uniform was to be the
“hodden vrey,” with Gordon tartan facings. Dr. Inglis
next sent out the organizers of the Federation on their
first missionary journey for the S.W.EL. They were sent
broadcast, as the appeal had been, all over Scotland, and
told to appeal for twenty thousand pounds. They went,
carrying the gospel of the dawning cra of the recount-
tion of women’s work in the welfare of the nation. One
dwells with pride on the memory of these first mission-
aries of the S.\W.H. Tothem it was a" great adventure.
The scheme for which they had to appeal was darine
and fascinating in its originality, and with them rested the
responsibility of ‘setting the heather alight.” Tint
supporters of the Hospitals were soon found all over the
world is a witness to the way they did their work.

For the S.W.H., accepted in the first instance by the
N.U.W.S.S.' and remembering proudly all through the
years of their existence this parentage, ‘Shave formed a
wonderful rallying-point for women of every shade of
political opinion —non-suffragist and anttsutlragist alike
pouring their money into the common funds and giving
their personal service.” Several of the largest subscrip-
tions in the early days were from) prominent antt-
suffragists. A personal friend of Dr. Inglis’, who had
strongly disapproved of her Suffrage work, in seading
her a cheque, wrote: “1 am glad you are doing something
useful at last!”

On 21st November, five thousand four hundred and
four pounds had been subscribed, and in that month the
colleges of Girton and Newnham had offered to raise
fifteen hundred pounds to equip another Unit. On
oth December the funds in hand were over six thousand
five hundred and seven pounds.

1 National Union of Women’s Suttrage Societies.

CHAPIER I
THE UNITS FORMING

] bia NG these months of September, October, and
November, whilst the funds were increasing from
one hundred and fitteen to over six thousand pounds, the
ictual preparation of the Units was proceeding apace-
the idea of a single Unit had long been abandoned, and
the number of Hospitals was to be limited only by the
amount of money subscribed, “The first emissary of the
S.W.HL, in the person of Dr, Alice Hut hison, went over
to France on 7th November 1o1g. A post card from
her of that date to Dr. Inlis is worth preserving :
“Dear De. Ixcus,—Dr. Clark wrote to you as I
was leavine home yesterday. My day was an appalling
rash. [cross to Calais to-day. Lam not sure with whom
to hunt the coast to-morrow—Dunkirk, Gravelines, etc.—
fora suitable building. ‘There is not a barn left at Calais
for vounded pouring in. IT must dash up to Edinburgh
if possible on my return, as I came to Harburg with a
fortnicht’s luggage. If it’s impossible, I'll manage some-
how— Lam delighted to do this trip for you.”
On that same date the following letter was received
from the French Embassy :
“ AMBASSADE DE FRANCE,
A Lonpres, 74 Noventber 1914.
“The Secretary to the French E mbassy presents his
compliments to the P eee of the Scottish Women's

Hospital, andl beus to that nk he ot for her kind offer of the
9

(O° SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

Sth inst. With regard to a new arrangement between
the French War Office and the British Red Cross, all

offers for Hospitals abroad are to be examined by the
British Red Cross, 53 Pall Mall.”

On the Sth November Dr. Seton Watson wired :

“Serbian Government gratefully accepts expedition
Writing details,”
- Hutchison, going over to France for an indefinite
pertoa, “hunting the coast” so gaily fora building for
the S.W.H., with only a fortnight's luvoave with her, is
a daughter of a medic al missionary in the north of India,
Whose fame as a devoted doctor and a fearless traveller
has spread far and wide amongst the people of the
Western Himalayas. Any one who knew him could have
no difficulty in trac ing the source of the intrepid courage,
‘ the unfailine resoure tulness, and the devotion to work
F found in the dauchter,
Dr. Hutchison will be often met in these pages,
“Any one working under Alice I futchison once is always
ready to do so again.” was Dr. Inelis’ tribute to her.

ls tne end of November Dr. Inglis gave in her first
report to the S.\W-_E, committee as to what had been

done since the inaugural meeting on rth August.

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CALAIS

N rgth November tot, 4, Just three months after the
( ) Scottish Women had Offered a Ho pital for service
ab road, Dr. Hutchison and sister Linton went over to
Calais in answer to Dr. Depace's request, to see in what
way the Scottish Women could help the Belgians. Fora
few days there was quiet, and not much prospect of any
hard work. Then typhoid broke out in the Bel

Army, and Calais was taxed to jts utmost to meet the
emergency. On sth pclbas rr Dr. Hutchison was put
in charve ofa typhoid annexe to: Dr. Dex page S Hospital,
and with Dr, Phillips ahr ten fully pained nurses had
three months of unce asing work until the epidemic came
lo an en ad,

The following are quotations taken from Dr. Hutchi-
son's letters to her many friends during these three

Queen of the Belgians, who sent. Dr. Depaze to try and

se: order out of the Existing chaos, es is ee big
surgeon, hence her choice. | understand it is an entity

by itself, n either under the Red C ross nor War Office.

“13th December 1914.

‘T feel that a letter of some sort must be sent off to-
a or you will all soon ha € forgotten my existence.

eves papers

12 SCOTTIS' WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Well, on Satur. cy, sth December, | was sent for to Dr.
Depage’s private room, where I found two Generals,
resplendent in gold lace and other adornments befitting
their high station, to whom Dr. Depave presented me as
—' This is the doctor of whom | spoke to you,’ and there
and then it was fixed up that Dr. Depage should give up
his annexe of eighty beds for typhoid work, and that I
should work there with my ten nurses and Dr. Phillips.
I quite realised that the Generals were not dying to have
us, but [ determined that they should arrive at the stave
of being loath to lose us, befor long. [ stipulated for two
davs’ srace to get my nurses over.! The two days’ vrace
was accorded in word but not in deed, for on Sunday
morning, when I was busy doing some dressin rat Jeanne
d’Are (Dr. Depage’s Hospital), an orderly came to say
that five cases had been admitted to the Rue Archiméde
(the annexe). From then on they simply poured in, and
Sister Linton and I had no further ne

(
T } i]

L to complain of
an idle existence, [In my next letter IT shall tell you how

we run the place, and how | did many things in those
early days which I never dreamed of deine.”

“Dear Evervaopy,—I have sat down to give you a
description of this place and of our work here, as it would
doubtless interest you to know the conditions under
which we are working.

“The building where we work was a school, and the
house we live in was the schoolmistr: ss’s house. We
are nearly on the edge of the town, surrounded on both
hands by patches of waste round, and with a larve
factory at the back of us. Arrived at our bio wooden

' The remaining nurses left Edinburgh next day, 6th December, arriving

at Calais withiz of

ae HARE

CALAIS 13

doorway, you ring the bell and step into a covered court-
yard—the door to the right leads into our house, and that
on the left leads into the five schoolrooms, now our
wards. The wards all open into one another ina straight
line, and we have ten beds in each.

“Our d velling-house could hardly be more bare than
it is; but it is a barren simplicity, not tawdriness. In
the early days we had no servant, and Sister Linton
turned to like a perfect brick and ran the house and
kitchen. Now we have a very nice woman, a French-
woman called Jeanne, whose husband was killed at the
front in October, and who has in consequence to support
herself and her baby. IT think somehow Jeanne will
soon become an indispensable part of cur s#zeéxage, and
one of our pleasantest memories after we have gone.
The first two days here, when Sister Linton and I were
alone, remain in my mind as a nightmare. All day long
the ambulance drove up, and patients were carried in
on stretchers, and ward after ward filled up with appal-
ling rapidity. Sister Linton and IT, with the help of one
or two young Belgian priests, ran about doing what we
could in the way of sponging, feeding, etc., with, if my
memory docs net play me false, an occasional dash in
three aiffevent directions at the same time, to prevent
oe out of bed. We have
several young Belgian priests as orderlies, and find them

delirious patients from gettin

excellent. “Phcir training seems to have developed in
them a spirit of discipline, submissiveness, and devotion
to duty which results in first-class work. Of them all,
however, Brother Michacl is the favourite. We have
iso a youne parish priest, Monsieur l’Aumonier, who
makes a round of the wards every day, distributing
literature and words of consolation to those who are not
deirious, and granting a few words of absolution to any

; Ei Lae FO gt snippet | e.g iat teas ”
Whose Comdion ts reportect tO DA as CEriUliCal. VLonsie€ut

“ey

14 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

l'Aumonier is quite a nice young man, but he isn't a
patch on Monsieur l'Abbé, the portly priest of Ambulance
Jeanne d’Are.

‘Tam being splendidly supported in the work here
by Dr. Phillips and my ten Scottish nurses. The latter
are working like bricks, and I am glad to think they will
have some relaxation on Christmas night, when we have
been invited to dine and dance at the Sophie Berthelet,
the English hospital here.”

Extract from a letter to Dr. Inglis, written after Dr.
Inglis’ visit of inspection :

* It is good of you to be so appreciative of the work
here. It would be nice to feel when we leave that we
had sensibly advanced the whole position of women by
our little contribution of work here.”

“4th January.

“Whenever one gets irritated or vexed with the
Belgians, one feels oneself pulled up by the realisation
of the painfully unique position they are in, having
no claim to any but the smallest corner of their
country, and many of them having no knowledge of the
whereabouts of even their wives and children. When
Christmas Day came I wished them the only wish which
I felt was not mere humbug--I wished them the follow-
ing Christmas in their own country, a country completely
freed from German rule. How different it is walking
through our wards now from what it was even two weeks
ago! Then the wards were so silent that it was like a
house of the dead. The only interludes to the heavy
silence were the noisy declamations of delirious patients,

“ Now it seems as if a magician’s wand had touched
the place, and all is noise and chatter and brightness,

“The epidemic is a severe one, with many grave
complications, One never has a dull moment.”

ssn

CALAIS I

“30th January 1915.

«Dear Everyropy,—It ts some time since I sent
united news to you, so I must try to finish this letter to-
night, and get it posted to-morrow. Most weeks here
the days are so much alike that one hardly notices their
flicht. The washerwoman appears one morning with
the household napery, and one realises it is Sunday, or
she appears the following morning with the personal
washing, and one realises it is Monday. So the days
pass into weeks and the we eks into months, and one
begins to wonder whether the months will stretch into
years, and still fird this small band ot British women at
its post in Calais.

“Tam glad to be able to report one biy advance in
our arrangements. «4 camp for convalescent typhoids ts
in full swing now at Ruchard, about 26 miles from Tours.
So we shall always be able to empty and fill very
regularly, and so make the most of our tifty beds. There
is the one drawback to Ruchard, that it means twenty-
seven hours’ train journey, 50 We cannot send patients
away till they are thoroughly fit.

“The first clear-out took place soon after my last
letter was sent, and first clear-outs, especially In war-
time, are rather outstanding events, even more 50 than
the arrival of the washerwoman ! The Sister of one of
our wards got a most delicately and quaintly expressed
note (in English) written by an English-speaking patient
in an attempt to give utterance to the surcharged feclings
of two Flamands. As the motor set off for the station,
after the usual snorting and puffing, my thoughts were
back in Bulgaria.t 1 saw once again the long line of
bullock carts, packed with convalescent wounded, setting

1 Previous to 1914, Dr. Hutchison had worked in Bulgaria in the first
Balkan War.

16 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

slowly in motion with many a creak and groan,
allowing ample time for renewed handshakes and
parting injunctions, Men ories_ sometimes come like
benedictions,

“We have been very busy, and I have been so
grateful for the splendid way in which our nurses have
tackled the work. Some of them are having consider-
able success in training the ‘Fréres’ to be of some real
use in the wards, even in some cases to wash up a
patient and change his sheets. You can understand
that with several delirious or unconscious patients on
hand there is bound to bea tremendous lot of that sort
of work to do.

‘I must tell you about Céline, who for a few
days added a warm touch of colour to the ward life. |
introduce her to you as abruptly as she appeared on the
scene. On going into the ward one evening, T found
one of my favourite patients, who had been, as the French
say, ‘within two fingers of death,’ impatiently awaiting
me witha telegram in his hands. | read the following
pathetic lines: ‘Tam at Dieppe. Can [ see thee if
come? Kisses, Céline.” Then had I to wave a fierce war
fare, using all my arullery, big and small. against th;
terrible bugbear, ‘Za Loy Militaire” La Loi Atilitaiy,
says that no typhoid fever patient May receive visitors,
and refuses to make an exception in the case of a poor
litle woman who takes fright on hearing that her
husband is at Calais, because ‘she knew every one who
went to Calais had enteric,’ who then takes her courave
in her hands and risks everything to get past that barbed-
wire barrier which now marks the Belvian-Dutch
frontier. To leave openly in the train js impossible, as
no Belgian is allowed to leave the country, Soa weary
tramp across bogs and fields has to be undertaken, till an
soiated spot is found, where patrol sentries are scarce,

CALAIS 17

and where one finally escapes by throwine oneself flat
and crawling under the barbed wire. Many arrive in
Holland with their clothes hopelessly torn, but, as Céline
proudly said, ‘I had the sense to put on my old ones,’
Well, in the end, I managed to silence the enemy’s guns ;
but when Céline swept in on us as fresh and vigorous as
a moorland wind, I realised that I had wasted power,
for Céline with her charming smile would have swept
past any General in creation. When her husband
realised what she had faced to get here, he said, ‘ Oue//e
folie’; while I added, ‘ Quelle folie glricuse!’ The
day Céline left I received a charming little basket,
daintily arranged with a mixture of Parma violets and
ordinary violets—a huge yellow bow on one side and a
small rosette of the Belgian colours below it. Accom-
panying it was a delicately worded little note expressing
some of Céline’s innermost feelings. Dear Céline, she
will always be with me as a charming and gracious
memory ; and I never so regretted our disuse of ‘thou’
as when I heard her suddenly break off in the middle of
a vivacious account of her adventures, then touch her
husband's hand and say, ‘ To think that thou wast nearly
dead, and now I have thee safely here.’

“You can see that we have much to cheer us, but we
have also much to sadden us. A lovely big schoolboy of
a creature was brought in one day who had leit school
in July, and was fighting in the trenches in Auvust.
There was not a life we lonved more to save, so as to be
able to send him back in the vigour of his youth and his
boyish beauty to the ‘mére et Héléne’ whom he spoke
of so incessantly, but... we failed. It was at least a
comfort to be able to send them word that their [Henri
had not lacked for a mother touch from the women who
had looked after him.

“Qne night a man was brought in, already noisily

wyeeemene

meetin tees aeons

iS SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

delirious and drumming out his own funeral march in
loud and resonant tones. Again and yet again he rolled
it out with an intermixture of comic camp sonys till the
cerieness got too much for us. Forty-eight hours later
he slipped out as silently as he had come in boisterously,

“IT think there is no harm ins telling you that |
have been greatly comforted this week to find that our
hospital has the lowest percentage mortality for enteric
in Calais,

“We all keep wonderfully well, and | hope we shall
continue to do so, It is difficult to believe one is in
Calais, the all-pervadine dampness of it is so reminiscent
of dear old Scotland! French people, however, assure
me that they cannot within their memory recall such
another damp winter.

In March 1915 the epidemic had been overcoine, and
Dr. Hutchison and her nurses returned to Britain. The
annexe was one of the few hospitals in Calais where fully
trained British Sisters were to be found upon the Staff
Of the trained British nurse it has been said, that during
the war she “was worth ner weight not in gold, but in
diamonds,”

According to official returns, the death-rate in the
annexe was lower than in any other hospital in Calais.

choin
roll d
ll the
later
rusty,
lat |

ILEriC

shall
is in
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sure

such

PARP TWO: ROYAUMONT

CHAPTER I
DECEMBER 1914—DECEMBEK i9ic

“Koyaumont was splendid,
Miss Ivens more than splendid.

LORD bstlke

f{le sun shines down on the ripples of the slow-
flowing river, winding its way through the dark
woods of the valley. In an open space on one side,
where the huge trees have been felled and cleared away,
a great Abbey is building. Slender columns are rising,
andthe outline of graceful windows takes sh pe acainst
the sky. The noise of the masons’ tools and the voices
of the builders fill the air. Most of the workers
are white-robed Cistercians, carryine litters filled with
stones and lime, or, with loins girt and cowl thrown back,
climbing up and down the long ladders,

Carrying his litter like the rest is a handsome young
man whose delicacy of feature and refined mien belic the
great physical strength he displays at his work, and
Whose rich attire and pointed scarlet cap are in marked
contrast with the task which engages him. It is the
young King of F.ance, Louis 1x.

Answering to the intense enthusiasm and religious
devotion of the King-Saint, masons, and sculptors,
workers in glass, and carpenters, nobles. and princes toll
together day by day, lovingly laying stone upon stone till

20 SCOTTISHL WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

the “soaring columns and lofty arches losing themselves
in the dim vaulting overhead,” ! the windows with their
“jewelled brilliance" “ made as perhaps the Psalms
were written by devout men who used the best. skill
they had,” and all the “argosy of beauty” gathered in
to the building, proclaim to those who dreamed their
“great dream of a splendid and stately house of God’
that the dream has at last come true. It is the \bbey of
Royvaumont, with the Abbey Church, the Masterpiece
of the Oise.

Seven hundred years later, A vreat battle is raging,
A bit of the long line of armies that lie facing each other
across [Europe has bulged out on each side, and the
opposing forces have flung themselves at each other,
The hospitals will soon be full, Night has fallen, the
mist is rising from the river, and it is quiet in the old
Abbey of Royaumont where they wait for the fruit of the
battle. Tar down the avenue a light vleams through the
mist and the darkness, and grows brighter and brichter
as the trees on each side flash past it and race into the
darkness behind. The first motor clides swiftly nearer
and stops with exquisite gentleness at the door. \Vith
the skill and quietness born of constant practice, strong
young women lift out the stretchers and carry the shat-
tered bodies of the brave young Frenchinen into the
wards, where doctors and nurses flit about between the
slender pillars, and the light from the bedsid« lamps falls
on the faces of the wounded soldiers, whose weary eyes
find rest in the dim mystery of the far-away vaulted
roof, St. Louis’ Abbey no longer shelters the Cistercian
monks, but the women of the first of the Scottish
Women’s Hospitals and their patients.

The Abbey is situated in the valley of the Oise,
twenty-five miles from Paris, and twelve miles from Creil

John Warrack in British Cathedru

so heath

Wit:

DECEMBER 1914—DECEMBER 1915. 21

—the nearest clearing station. Except the Abbey
Church, which was destroyed by the Commune in 1791,
all the buildings, justly famed for their beauty, are in a
remarkable state of preservation. Through the instru-
mentality of Madame la Vicomtesse de la Panouse, the
President of the Croix Rouge Britannique, M. Goiiin,
the proprietor, granted the use of the Abbey for the
Hospital. The personnel and equipment were ready in
November, the advance party left at the end of that month.

In the Common Cause an article appears under the
title, ‘‘Off at Last”: “ The National Union as a whole,
and more particularly the Scottish Federation, may well
feel proud. Dr. Hutchison is in Calais, whither her nine
remaining nurses have followed her, and our first complete
hospital unit has arrived at Chantilly after many stru, gles
with ‘red tape.’ I wonder how many of our readers knew
they were crossing the Channel during that terrific gale
last Friday? . . . We of the N.U. are going to feel more
and more proud of that quiet grey uniform as time goes on
—quiet and unobtrusive, but with its little splash of green
on collar and hatband, to tell that the Scotchwomen who
wear the tartan are of the same dogged staying breed as the
men who wear it in the trenches. The English and Irish
and Welsh members scattered amongst the Staff are proud
to wear it too, as the soldier wears the decoration of
another nation out of compliment. . . . The personnel
of the Unit, under Miss Ivens of Liverpool, includes
three surgeons, two physicians, and a radiologist. Ten
trained nurses, and nearly as many dressers and orderlies,
and two cooks have also gone. Miss Cicely Hamilton and
Mrs, Prys-Owen went previously with the advance party.”

On the arrival of the Unit in Paris on 5th December,
Miss Ivens and her party were met by the discouraging
news that though the advance party had been housed in

“ie western wing of the building, M. Goiin’s private

to
to

SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

apartments, there was not sufficient accommodation there
for the rest of the Unit: and the equipment not having
arrived, there was no possibility of being able to use
the rest of the Abbey. Until the equipment came, what
were Miss Ivens and her party to do? Miss Ivens was
equal to the occasion. If the equipment, with the beds,
had not arrived, straw mattresses and blankets could be
eotin Paris, and there was always the tloor of the Abbey
to lie upon. Armed with ten straw mattresses bought
that very evening, and accompanied by some specially
selected, robust members of the Unit, Miss Ivens went
down the following day to see the Abbey for herself.
Count de Navarro gives a delightful picture of the
arrival of these straw mattresses at the hotel: “ The con-
sternation of the hall porter may be imavined when the
first batch arrived from the shops in a bulging taxi-cab.
At each purchase of a new instalment the prospective
sleepers would delightedly roll them up and carry them
across the road to the Gare du Nord to catch the early
morning train—all rejoicing at being the chosen ones to
brave the first hardships of an embryo hospital.” In
twos and threes, day by day, the rest of the party
arrived at Royaumont, carrying their beds with them.

The story of Royaumont is different from that of any
of the other Units of the S.W.H. Here are no camps,
no evacuation in flight from the enemy, but the Unit's
splendid work carried on in an ancient and beautiful
Abbey, without cessation, from 1914 to 1g1g, under its
brilliant chief, Miss Frances Ivens,

The stories of the other Units under canvas, on the
hillsides, in lonely districts, in retreats, and in the hands of
the enemy, are thrilline and glorious reading ; so also
is the story of the work don by this Unit during the
summers of cach succeeding year, and during their first

fortnight at Royaumont, when the ancient Abbey was

a ae

DECEMBER 1914—DECEMBER 1915 23
rescued from “ the dust of ages” and transformed into a
beautiful modern hospital. In graphic words Count de
Navarro has told the story of this wonderful fortnight,
when the accumulated dust of ten years was removed
within as many days.

‘In order to realise fully the nature and importance
of the achievement, it will be necessary to remember that
the Abbey was without light, heat, or water. It had
been built to conform with monastic requirements ; it
had been dislocated by industrial installations, was unin-
habited for ten years, and represented at the moment
the progressive results of mutilation and abandonment.
Light, heat, water, ordinary requirements of domestic life,
what could a hospital achieve without these fundamental
necessities? l*urthermore, a spring-cleaning to remove
the accumulated deposit of ten years was first in order
before the after-consideration of such luxuries as light,
heat, and water. The task, considering the dimensions
of the Abbey and its overwhelming disorder, was an
undertaking fit to choke the serenity of a family of vacuum
cleaners. And there were but women’s hands to under-
take the work. Women’s hands, but happily women’s
courage and enthusiasm to ensure its success. In two
weeks the poisonous dust-storms had abated, the faithful
workers (more chimney-sweeps than ornaments of chim-
ney-corners) had issued from their dust of ages, and had
restored the Abbey to its former monastic order and clean-
liness, . . . And when all was finished, and poisoned
lungs he Ay at last their first deep breath of satisfaction,
there was still no light, no heat in the Abbey, and only
one cold-water tap in a dark, distant kitchen. How the
crowd of black, impatient figures must have gathered at
evening—the day's work ended—about that one imper-

* The Scottish |Vomen’s Hospttalat the French Abbey of Royaimoné, by

Aiitonio de Navarro

24. SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

turbable tap and made the monastic walls ring with,
shall we say (¢emps de gucrre), explosive language !

“ All day long the nurses, orderlies, junior doctors—
healthy, active young women, with a full share of the
modern girl's strength—scrubbed, dusted, washed the
floors and walls, opened huge packing-cases and carried
up flights of stairs their heavy contents : beds, bedding,
and all the other paraphernalia necessary for fully
equipped wards. A few workmen were pressed into ser-
Vice to install livht, stoves, and chimneys, and all laboured
with such diligence and goodwill that within a week two
large rooms on the first and secon! Toors were practically
ready for occupation. The larger of the two, situated on
the first floor, was in early days the library of the monks,
Deep windows, opening north and south, overlooked the
cloistered terrace and the southern rose-garden,

“A large stove was fixed in the centre of the room,
and the walls and oor were cleaned times out of
number. When the winter sun poured through the
three southern windows on the red coverlets of the thirty-
six beds, the first ward in Royaumont was beyond all
compare the loveliest ever seen. Below this large ward,
leading into the cloisters, was the ancient refectory of the
monks, later the ‘Canada’ Ward. At the cast end of its
hanging vallery—a modern addition—a group of small
rooms was d'scovered. After much consideration these
were converted into an operating-room, dispensary, X-ray
room, and bathroom. The operating theatre was
selected on account of its tiled floor, and for the added
reason that it had two communicating tiny chambers
which were easily transformed for purposes of sterilisa-
tion and cleaning, indispensable to modern aseptic
su re ry.

Miss Cicely Hamilton, writing on 24th December,
tells of these first davs in the Abbey :

DECEMBER 1914—DECEMBER 1915 2s

“ These first few days at Royaumont I shall always
look back on as an experience worth having. In
surroundings of medieval grandeur —— amid vaulted
corridors, Gothic refectories, and cloisters— we procceded
to camp out with what we carried. The Abbey, in all
its magnificence, was ours: but during those first few
days it did not offer us very much bevond magnificence
and shelter. It had not been lived in for years, and
its water-supply had been cut off when the nuns left it
for Belgium. Hence we carried water in buckets up im-
posing staircases and alony equally imposing corridors.
Our only available stove—a mighty erection in the
kitchen that had not been lit for a decade—was naturally
short-tempered at first, and the supply of hot water was
limited indeed. So, in consequence, was our first wash-
ing at times very limited indeed. Our equipment, after
the fashion of bageave in these times of war, was in no
great hurry to arrive ; until it did arrive we did without
sheets and blankets, wrapped ourselves in rugs and
overcoats at night, and did not do much undressing,
We borrowed teacups from the villave ironmonger, and
passed the one knife round at meals for every one to take
a chop with it. We were as short of lamps as we were
of knives—shorter ; and we wandered about our majestic
pile with candle-ends stuck jn bottles ; little twinkling
candle-ends, that strugeled with the shadows under the

groined roofs... . We are getting electric licht in now,
and already I tind it in my heart to recret these bottled
candles with their Rembrandtesque effects. ... A few

days ago our equipment condescended to arrive, and now
we have knives all round, and blankets and towels,
More important still, there are rows of beds in the wards,
and we are waiting the formal visit of inspection of the
Fr. sh Military Authority.”

in the first week in January 1915 all was ready for

oR i reir cen eae ate eo
vi pian qe lSnatne nents t | eons Si Seal

PTLD Ty eects ET TE

Seared th tees sree ated

Se a ana Ht 2
ee sere

26 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

patients. There were four wards holding ninety-six
beds. The wards were called after famous women.
The old library of the monks on the first floor was
Blanche de Castille” (the mother of St. Louis). he
Chapter-Room in the castern wing which opened on to
cloisters received the name of “ Millicent Fawcett,” in
honour of the President of the N.U.W.S.S. The two
wards running north and south became known as
“Jeanne d’Arc” and ‘ Marguerite d'Ecosse.” On
13th January the first patient arrived. Unlike the ex-
perience of the other Units, waere time and again the
opening of the hospital meant an overwhelming inrush
of patients, here the great work of four years, increasing
every month in volume and importance, began with the
quiet admission of six patients. Four wards, ninety-six
beds—and only six patients! A writer! has noted “the
calm attitude of the head Sisters who stood beside the
men they had already chosen to lead to their respective
wards—imothers already inembryo.” . . . “ The attitude of
each head nurse revealed her eagerness for a patient—
a moment of pathetic rivalry—six patients—four nurses.
Eventually four men were alloted to ‘Blanche,’ two to
‘Marguerite.’ The fortunate Sisters at once appro-
priated their charges. There was but one note of protest
—the Sister of ‘ Millicent,’ tall, dark, distinguished, had
stood during the head surgeon’s distribution of the
cases silently holding by the hand one of the patients.
It had been her resolve not to let him escape from her
particular care. But discipline had to be maintained,
and he was ruthlessly included among those destined for
‘Blanche.’” The military authorities of all the Allies
were naturally nervous about entrusting their wounded
to hospitals staffed entirely by women. All honour to
the French War Office who, taking their courage in both

'Count de Navarro.

DECEMBER 1914—DECEMBER 1915 27

hands, sent those six men to Royaumont, thus giving
the “Scottish Women’ the chance of proving their
metal. So well did they do their work that within four
months the French military authorities had asked that
the number of beds might be doubled, and that another
hospital might be opened in France by the S.W.H.
Committee,

And so the work at Royaumont was started. Every-
thing was present to make this first undertaking of the
Scottish Women a success. A beautiful building in a
healthy secluded spot, a perfect equipment, a fine
personnel. — Indeed, so carefully had the equipment
been thought out by that band of enthusiastic women,
“the Equipment Committee” in Edinburgh, complete
amateurs at the job, that not an item had been forgotten,
from the X-ray apparatus down to tooth-brushes for the
patients, “The p rsonnel was as perfect as careful choos-
ing out of a list of over four hundred applicants anxious
to be chosen could make it, and the administration of
the place could not have been in better hands than those
of the masterly organizer and surgeon, Miss Ivers.
Steadily the work grew. Royaumont made a name for
itself—in the trenches, at French and British Head-
juarters, In April anew ward had to be opened. The
old guest-chamber of the Abbey was turned into a
ward of a hundred beds, and called the ‘‘Queen Mary ”
Ward.

[In that month, and in August and September, after
the big pushes, came ereat rushes of work. These
rushes were child’s play compared with the work done
by the Staff the following year, after the Somme push ;
but that again did not equal in any degree the enormous
influx of patients overtaken by the Hospital in 1918 after

the German advance on the “Chemin des Dames.

RIUULTks

No story of Royaumont would be complete without

ret

ry
|
4

5A recat A -ega s ceaansesecree

—_

EST

28 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

a description of the mending department. All “ mend-
ing” is woman's work, and the mending and cleaning of
the torn blood-stained garments of the patients were no
less thoroughly and efficiently done than the “ mending ”
of their poor shattered bodies. The following account is
given by one of the Staff, on whose back, before the
institution of the pulley, all the garments needing repair
were carried to ‘the Royaumont garrets” :

‘Picture the weary men arriving after a twelve miles’
drive in our ambulances, and after being refreshed with
hot soup and cigarettes in the hall, being conducted to
one of the great vaulted wards, into any one of which
we might stow away a little English village church
quite comfortably, During their passage through the
hall, we seize upon their baggage and accoutrements and
label them, As the men are bathed and put to bed their
uniforms and underclothing are placed in numbered sacks
and hauled up by a block-pulley to the fifth storey, where
our vast attics are. ... Here they are unshipped and
placed in fumigation cupboards. The next morning we
sort out the sacks, mark and send _ the soiled linen to the
wash, collect the men’s treasures (pipes, tobacco, love-
letters, war trophies, and the like) into little parcels, put
out the torn things for our mending heap, and store the
sacks in numbered order in one of what Royaumont calls
‘garrets.. We could put a row of modern villas into
our big storeroom. The men’s outdoor clothes ¢o into
a separate attic, where they hang from the good old oak
rafters in a curvent of fresh air, and everything is
numbered and entered up in our alphabetical record.
The next stage is the mending. A wonderful French-
woman, Madame Fox, the wife of an English resident
of our village (Asni¢res-sur-Oise), undertakes the
mending of the washed linen. We ourselves tackle the
uniforms, with the noble assistance of Mrs. Hacon

ANGE | PREM aaa IeE SE TLeH! ew mEarceen 6d

ldbtnven ee nena sertescn acer

ROYAUMONT,

PLEEVY OF AMBULANCES AT Royat MONT.

SIN OF THE Royauont "CAN ES,”

QUIN, TOG FL,

DECEMBER 1914—DECEMBER 1915 29

through whose ingenuity I have seen the ‘ veste’ of an
artilleryman, minus half a sleeve, made into a wondrous
garment with warm woollen cuffs,—all because there was
nothing in the world to mend it with but a pair of navy
blue bed-socks,—and an old scarlet sock repair a breach
made by shell in a pair of infantryman’s <rousers.

‘Indeed, we are earning a good name for this
Women's Hospital for turning out our men not only
mended in body, but repaired in equipment. They say
the men from Royaumont are recognisable by their
healthy red cheeks and their clean good clothes. It isa
real pleasure to see the wounded man’s face when he sees
his kit, washed and renovated, folded ready for him to
wear.”

More than one visitor to Royaumont has written of
the sports, concerts, and dances occasionally held there.
They describe the Staff “off duty,” and for that reason
are interesting. Running like a connecting link through
all the units we find among the personnel of each
this elasticity of spirit, this power of doing and daring
great things, and yet of being able to thoroughly enjoy
sports, concerts, and dances,

For a period of several months there was a run of very
tall women at Royaumont. During the slack winter of
1915-1916 many sports and amusements for both
patients and Staff were organized. Hockey teams amongst
the Staff were the order of the day. Two teams played
each other—“ The Giants” and “The Bantams.” The
maximum height of the Bantams was five feet seven
inches!

For a description of the kitchen and cooking at Roy-
aumont we must turn to a correspondent of the 77zmes:
“In the kitchen of an old monastery, a group of British
women, all of good education, are cooking and scrubbing
and washing up all day long, and they have been doing

30)«6 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S TLOSPIPALS

it for many months. The way they ik potatoes is a
thing to write poetry about, and the Pren h soldiers who
have eaten them will tell you that they want to go back
to that monastery, which is now a hospital, because the
food is so good, Not only do these women cooks of
the educated classes cook well, but they are economical ;
not mean, but merely not wasteful; and that is a very
strong point in their favour.”

The account of the kitchen would not be complete
without mention of * Michelet of Royaumont.” A famous
chef before the war, he was wounded in 1015 and came
as a patient to Koyaumont. Being afterwards put into
the auxiliary service, he asked to be taken on as chef, and
became famous in many a market and in other quarters
as * Michelet of Royaumont.:

Mention must also be made of the X-ray car, the first
eift of the London Committec, the record of whose
splendid contribution to the work of the S.W.EL. appears
in subsequent chapters. It was equipped on a macni-
ficent scale and cost three thousand pounds.‘ The chiet
advantage of such a car is that it can travel about from
one hospital to another. Otherwise the wounded have
to be taken, sometimes at great personal risk, to wherever
the X-ray apparatus happens to be stationed. “The delay
thus occasioned, quite apart from the physical strain ofa
long drive, may make all the ditference between life and
death to the wounded.”

The car was utilised at once, and with it Dr. Agnes
Savill, the first radiographer at Royaumont, did the X-
ray work for the Condé and Jockey Hospitals at Chan-
tilly, the Rothschild Hospital at Laversine, and for the
beautiful little hospital at Ch unbly.

In June 1915 the new laboratory was opened. In
writing of this event Miss Ivens says: " We have hada
deluge of Generals. Yesterday General Michel, formerly

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DECEMBER 1914—DECEMBER 1915 2;

fe)

Governor of Paris, came with Madame Michel, and we
took the opportunity to open the new laboratory, which
is a great success. They brought with them Professor
Pinard, and all seemed delighted that the patients looked
so well. This afternoon General Pelle came from French
Headquarters and talked to each soldier. He seemed
pleased, and while he was here our old friend, General
Dzievonski, formerly Médecin of the 2nd Army, arrived
from Paris. The latter told Dr. Berry that what amazed
him most was the extremely good behaviour and dis-
cipline of the men.”

We may fitly close this account of the first year's
work at Royaumont with a few extracts from an article
written that year by one of the Staff, entitled the “Soul
of a War Hospital.”

“Of the advance party of five who came over early
in December of last year, only two remain—our secre-
tary and our head chauffeur ; of the original Staff there
are only a few nurses and orderlies left—but only two of
the doctors are missing, and our chief has only once left
the Hospital for a night during the whole history of the
Unit. . .. All our men are sorry to leave us, but the
departure of some of our older friends is doleful in the
extreme; and we miss them as much as they miss
the curious world-in-itself sort of existence that makes
up the life at Royaumont.

“We may be a hundred yards or so outside the Army
zone ; we may get wounded men fresh from the monstrous
life of the front-line trenches, broken and mutilated .. .
but for all that we are far from the war and from the
outside world... . We area ship's company on a vessel
that voyages always in mid-ocean, calling at no ports,
speaking to no ships in passing. We are a cosmos com-
plete in ourselves. Our past lives ‘before the war ’ slip
from off our memory like reality from the minds of those

8 gd’ Bechet tragat or: BE

32 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

that dream. Our future—when the war is over—the
mind refuses to grasp. There seems no other life.
And though we may be quartered in a cloisterc -d Abbey,
with the ruins of a religious age around us, there is
nothing of the institution about us. We are not patterned
out to a set of rules and regulations laid down for us.
We have grows

“The soul of Royaumont is a curious, almost a
tangible, thing. It disciplines the little soldiers of France
without rules; it binds ani controls the voluntary Staff
without contract or laws, Itis a thing mystic and forceful
that will leave us, each one of us, different from that which
we were before it touched us. It is a psychological ex-
perience that we and the French soldiers cannot go
through together without becoming in some mysterious
sense comrades. T hey feel it too, the men. I have seen
a letter from a youns welantees of good position and
fortune, written to a French friend caved weeks after he
had left us, and in it he tells her how this common soul
of Royaumont affected him and witnessed to him of the
comrade ship between the people of the British nation
and the citizens of France. The experience to him—
he was a boy of twenty-one--was some ‘thing sacra-
mental. Thank | leave nfor the inspiration that first made
a Scotswoman conccive the notion of the Scottish
Hospitals for Foreign Service, and for the chance that
brought our Unit to this ancient relic of the tar-off days
of Saint Louis.”

y
~

pbeaal iid

CHAPTER II
1916-1917

HERE were several interesting events in these
years. The opening of the “ Canada” Ward was
connected with the great push on the Somme, which lasted
approximately from 2nd to 25th July 1916. ‘ During
the first week of July over three hundred cases were ad.
mitted to Royaumont, nearly all gravely wounded. The
original theatre and a smaller one, improvised near a
convenient ward, were kept busy all day long—one for
twenty-two hours out of the twenty-four during the first
three days. The X-ray department organized a day and
night shift, and worked without intermission. Day and
night our chauffeurs were on the road conveying the
wounded men from the military evacuating — station.
Day and night our band of surgeons and nurses worked
under the unwearying example of our chief, Miss Ivens,
During that first week in July three hours’ consecutive
sleep was an inconceivable luxury, yet no one regarded
her share in such a time as other than a privilege.
Certain itis that only by such assiduous labour were saved
the lives and limbs of many of these yas-infected men.”
To meet the sudden intlux of patients the “ Canada ”
Ward was opened on 18th July 1916. Miss Burke had
collected four thousand pounds from the cities of Ottawa,
Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, and London (Ontario), and
the Canadian Red Cross had made a grant of two
thousand pounds. This venerous oift came, it will be
seen, at a most opportune time,

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34. SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

The opening ceremony was performed by Mr. W.
Matthews, a well-known Ottawan, who with Mlle.
Montizambert, also representing the Canadian Red
Cross, decorated the ward with the Canadian flag.
“Though most of the men there at that time were very
badly injured, they managed to raise themselves in bed
and vive acheer for Canada when they heard the flag
had been brought so many thousand miles.” And surely
flag never hung in such a hospital ward before. For the
hall chosen is the old refectory of the Abbey, where the
King was wont to feed over one hundred monks; the hatch
remains where he took the dishes passed through from
the adjoining kitchen. The long room has a delicate and
refined beauty, with its row of pointed windows, its
slender pillars, and its groined roof, and it was this ward
which the generous gift from Canada opened for the use
of the wounded Frenchmen.

Many of the French colonials were fighting for
France, amongst them the Senegalese from West Africa—
big, powerful men, unused to the methods and customs
of civilisation, they were found difficult to manage in
most hospitals. Miss Ivens tells their story :

“ Even the Sencvalese, who, with a ward full of Arabs,
arrived amony the July rush of badly wounded, and the
professional soldiers of the Foreign Legion and Colonial
troops (notoriously ditficult) quickly responded to the spirit
of Royaumont, and made themselves happy in its peace
and quiet. The black soldiers at first were like frightened
wild animals, timid and fearing everything. When they
found themselves surrounded by kindness, they quickly
realised thac all were anxious to ease their suffering, and
their vratitude knew no bounds. A special favourite was
Sister Williams, who had a wonderful way with them, and
it was most amu ing to see the minute Sister escorted by
her bodyguard of great black soldiers. When she left

1916-1917 35

they were simply heart-broken and wept bitterly. When
the day arrived for the evacuation of all the ‘ blackies’
there was one of the most touching and affecting scenes
the Hospital had ever witnessed. Every one was wonder-
ing what fate had in store for these poor, maimed
Senegalese. Suspecting they would be home-sick, Sister
Winstanley and orderly Chapman spent their leave
journeying across France to find them, and to take them
little presents, and brought back pathetic stories of their
overwhelming joy at the sight of friendly faces.

“Tt isa great thing toa man who is away from his
own people to feel that he really matters to some one else,
not as a case, but as an individual, and, as one boy
patient said, ‘ Royaumont is like a great big fainily, not
like a hospital at all. We were amused to hear that a
patient, sent out for convalescence, had requested to be
directed to another hospital managed by women, and
was astonished to hear that there was only one Royau-
mont in France.”

One of the Royaumont Giants gives us some details
of the Senegalese :

“ The black native troops from the French African
colonies and a few from the West Indian colonies
were put into the ‘London’ Ward. These men were
completely uncivilised; none of them had been in
a bed before ; very few had slept under a roof, and this
new mode of warfare was beyond their comprehension.
The mere fact of their being wounded by shell was
utterly beyond them, and a hospital was a terrifying place.

“The ward for a day or two was very unlike a
hospital ward—bedclothes always on the floor : bandages
and dressings also lying about, and no amount of tidying
ever made the place look right, as the things were off
again before the poor orderly could turn round. This

ward staif consisted of two Sisters and three orderlies,

36 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

There were ninety-nine steps to be climbed with coal,
food, stretchers, etc., and long passages to be traversed.
Cases were constantly going to and from the theatres and
X-ray rooms. Dressings were never-ending, and the
day's washing was always a very heavy one. After the
first week ‘ London’ was found too cold a ward for the
men, and they were moved into ‘ Elsie,’ ‘a lovely sunny
ward. This they thought was promotion, and they began
to think we were not so bad after all, and were much
more biddable. Before they went out their behaviour
was perfect, and they were anxious to help in every way,
particularly with the heavy work. Ifa man tried to be
annoying, It was quite sufficient for Sister to say, ‘So-
and-so will bring up the salad to-day instead of you,’ and
the man subsided on the spot. Quite the biggest man
was Coulibali, well over six feet. During the first week
in hospital he managed by some extraordinary means to
secrete a hue knife which he kept beside him in bed,
determined to be revenged on the surgeon who had
amputated his arm! But he proved, eventually, to be
the greatest help in the ward, and the other men always
turned to him for advice and leadership in everything.
He was almost the first to realise that we were not evil
witches, but were really helping them, and he talked the
others round. He hada wonderful bracelet round his arm
of beaten copper and brass, about three feet long, and
shaped like a serpent \When Sister asked him about it,
he manaved to make her understand that he used it to beat
his wives with, and was much astonished to find that she
was horrified at this idea. When he was being discharged,
he turned to Sister and promised her, with tears in his eyes,
that he would never beat his wives again.” ”

The visit of the French President in September 1916

1 This ward was called after Dr, Elsie Inglis.
+ Put he kept the bracelet '

ROYAUMONT.

Sik INGtIs” WARD WITH SENEGALESES,

Visrr OF M. POINCARE.
I's lentoot the French Republic.

THREE OF THE CHAUFFEURS.

1916-1917 37

was a great honour for Royaumont and created much
interest in the district.

“ Towards the end of last week Miss Ivens received
an intimation that Monsieur Poincaré proposed to pay a
visit to the Hospital on the following Wednesday to see
the wounded and to thank the Staff for the work done
at Royaumont for the relief of the French soldiers.
Some of our many friends, both English and French,
were invited ; a little treat was arranged for the patients,
and the band of the nearest regiment invited to play in
the cloisters,

“ Though the day when it came was cold, showery,
and ungenial, our neighbours from the surrounding
villages thronged the roads and flocked into the grounds
to see the approach of their President coming to honour
their dear Dames Ecossaises with a visit.

‘At the approach of the President's motor we all
gathered in the hall to receive him and Madame
Poincaré. Without delay the round of the Hospital was
begun, and Monsieur Poincaré shook hands with every
man as he passed, always addressing a few words to him
as well. The route was through the ‘ Millicent Fawcett’
Ward into the cloisters, where the President was creeted
by the ‘ Marseillaise,’ followed by ‘God Save the King,’
played by the military band. ‘Queen Mary,’ ‘ Canada,’
‘Jeanne d’Arc,’ ‘Marguerite d’ Ecosse,‘ Blanche de Castile,’
‘London,’ and ‘ Elsie Inglis’ were all visited in turn, the
Senegalese in the latter rousing much interest as usual.
No Frenchman seems to be able to understand how we
can manage not only to keep them in order, but to teach
them good manners. ‘Canada’ was also much admired,
It was looking its best, indeed the speckless condition
of all the wards was a matter of general comment. In
‘Canada’ onc of the men presented the President with a
sketch of Royaumont.”

38 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

The President was accompanied by M. Justin
Godard, Sous-secrétaire d’'Etat du Service de Santé and
by Médecin-Inspecteur Général Sieur.

A constant visitur to Royaumont was Docteur
Weinberg, of the Pasteur Institute, Paris. In his lecture
on Gas Gangrene, to the members of the medical pro-
fession in Glasgow, he paid a fine tribute to the work of
this Hospital.

“He had, he said, seen hundreds and hundreds of
military hospitals, but none the organization and di: c-
tion of which won his admiration so completely. Every
duty in the Hospital, from those of the chief surgeon to
the chauffeur of the motor ambulances, was performed
by women. He was impelled to express his admiration
of the manner in which cases were treated. The military
authorities had such confidence in the Hospital that they
were ready to trust to its care the most severe class of
cases. Of the bacteriological department of the Hospital,
which was arranged by Dr. Butler, Dr. Weinberg was
equally enthusiastic. He was struck with the most
perfect order which prevailed, notwithstanding the
apparently entire absence of anything in the form of
rigid disciplinary measures. He attributed this order to
the fact that the patients recognised how devoted were
the Staff to their care and interests. It was the soldiers’
natural recognition of the excellent services and attention
given by all the Staff to their care and interests. Dr.
Weinberg expressed the opinion that he could not
imagine any activity on the part of women that would so
effectively further the cause of the women’s movement as
the work of the Scottish Women’s Hospital.”

Dr. Weinberg gave great material help to the H ospital
by providing a large quantity of his anti-gangrcnous serum,
which was invaluabie in the treatment of gas gangrene.

In the end of 1916 Miss Ivens came home on a fort-

hh | nthes:

1916-1917 39

night's leave. In her visit to the I lcadquarters Com-
mittee she gave the following account of the two years’
work in the Hospital :

“Our doctors have worked with untiring energy.
Dr. Nicholson and Dr. Berry and Dr. Agnes Savill
have been props of the Hospital from the beginning, and
Dr. Ross and Dr. Agnes Savill have only recently left
us. All the doctors, as well as the Sisters, are regarded
with the greatest affection and respect by their patients,
The orderlies generallyare a great success, andin the words
of an old volunteer mirmier, ‘run about all day, never
tired, performing the most menial tasks with smiling
faces.. Our chauffeurs, under Miss Williams, are a
great credit to the Hospital, and are admired everywhere,
not only for their skilful and capable driving, but for the
care they take of their cars. We find our soldiers ex-
traordinarily grateful for the individual interest. taken
in their cases. Their perfect obedience and confidence
makes discipline child's play, and our own regulation
sergeant (realising the fact early on) retired to the bureau,
where he compiles the /aferassicre, as dear to the
French as red tape is to the British official. . . . Most
of our soldiers, after leaving, write charmingly expressed
letters of thanks to their doctors and nurses; the retrain
of all is the same, ‘I owe my lite to your care,’ and it is
an overwhelming recompense.

“ We all have the greatest admiration for the French
soldier. He is simmle, easily pleased, and his heroism
and tenacity have surpassed everything that the world
has ever seen. We expected courage, but we did not
realise that to this would be added such inimitable per-
severance and sustained effort. He says nothing about
what he has suffered. *Cest dv guerre’ is his favourite
phrase. When the President of the French Republic

visited Royaumont, Madame Poincaré gave each man a

|
i

Hi
it

yo SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

bay of presents, with the inscription, ‘/usgau bout,’ and
this expresses the general attitude of mind.

“The Hospital has been very fortunate in its official
visitors, from the President downwards. Their apprecia-
tion has been shown materially by a further grant of
Liooo from the French Government in recognition of
the beds added to meet the strain of the July offensive.
M. Doumerue, the Minister for the Colonies, after a visit,
also arranged that a grant of £400 should be given on
behalf of the Senegalese and Arabs. Certainly the
French people who know Royaumont fully recognise and
express through their official representatives, the Préfets
of the Seine and Seine-et-Oise, and the Maires of all the
neighbouring towns, their gratitude for what is done for
their people, and recognise, in the words of Vice-Admiral
Touchard, the Délégué of the French Red Cross, ‘ the
unfailing and untiring generosity ’ of our Society.

“From its inception, Royaumont owes much to the
encouragement and sympathy of Dr. Cousergue, the
meédecin-chef of the evacuating station at Creil, who
after his first visit adopted the Hospital as his own. He
describes the Staff as his enfants gatés, and is never
weary of displaying the charms of the Hospital to the
many distinguished visitors he brings over. At the open-
ing of the ‘Canada’ Ward in July, Dr. Cousergue said
that without the resources of Royaumont he would have
been hard pressed to meet the necds of the many
wounded coming in from the Somme, and that many more
lives would have been lost.

“ Like many British base hospitals in France, Royau-
mont has done its best during slack times for the civilian
population. Urgent operation cases are taken in when
sent by their doctors or by the embarrassed médecin-
majors who find themselves the only doctors left in the

towns. Being voluntary, we are able to deal with cases

sdadihen snbiaie coon Et ee

1916-1917 41

which the Adpitae militaire must decline on account of
its regulations.

“ During the last few weeks of his life we had under
our care in the Hospital the English husband of our kind
French helper, Madame Fox, and every one felt it a
privilege to be of the slightest assistance to one who had
given so much personal service to the Hospital.”

'* The degree to which the surrounding districts
appreciate the help given to civilian patients may be
Judged from a letter just received from the acting mayor
of Coye:

“Cove, 2nd May 1916.

‘Tam commissioned by the municipal council and the
inhabitants of Coye to offer you our thanks for the skill
and generosity with which you have treated our sick.
There are many persons in this neithbourhood who owe
their lives to your hospital, and they, as well as their
families, will be eternally grateful.

* The reputation of your skilled surgeon, Miss Ivens,
and the nursing of your splendid Staff has long passed
the limits of your Hospital itself ; and you may be assured
that your stay here will leave in the entire countryside,
and particularly in this commune, a lasting memory of
your goodness during the miseries of this dreadful war.”

In May 1917 Miss Cicely Hamilton resigned her
post as administrator to undertake other work. Her
work for the Scottish Women at Royaumont had been
invaluable, In writing to the Committee just before she
left, Miss Hamilton says :

I should like to say this, those of you whose
work lies at home can hardly realise its indirect effect for
good upon the men and women with whom we have come

Incontact. Ido not judve by official compliments-—which

' Miss Cicely Hamilton.

5 ORE cag eee pee pede ee ss

:
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42, SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

are always {lowery—or the polite remarks of visit —; I
judge by all the little things I have seen and heard, the
interested and often puzzled questions of my French
friends and acquaintances. So far as my observation
goes, the work of our countrywomen in [‘rance stands
high in public estimation ; we are still accounted curious,
we are occasionally a jest, but it is always a kindly jest ;
if we are not always understood we can say with truth
we are trusted. It is something to have served for two
years anda half with those who have proved themselves
worthy of trust; and for that alone I shall always re-
member Royaumont.”

Vie

Raesibacacsn gids lil ciasblaes,

CHAPTER III
VILLERS COTTERETS

| N the spring of 1917 Miss Ivens was asked by

the French Military Authorities to open another
Hospital farther north, in the district where preparations
were being made for an autumn advance. Accordingly
in July, one at Villers Cotterets was opened, forty miles
north of Royaumont and fourteen miles directly south of
Soissons. Its career was brilliant though short—three
rushes of work in October, and in March and May of
the following year—steady, continuous work in between,
and the final drama of tremendous stress and sudden
evacuation in the last five days of May.

The three rushes of work followed consecutively on
the French retaking the Chemin des Dames in October,
the German advance on the British front in March, and
the big push of the Germans in May 1918.

“Our Hospital at Villers Cotterets ' was different in
every respect from Royaumont. Here we lived in huts,
each member of the Staff having a cubicle just large
enough to hold a bed and a shelf for a jug aad basin.

“ There were nine huts named after the Allies—each
hut a separate ward, the two largest, ‘Britain’ and
‘America,’ holding forty-two beds each.

“When the advance party of Scottish Women
arrived at Villers Cotterets, the camp appeared a deso-
late spot, muddy and untidy ; but before we left, between

' The account of Villers Cotterets is given by one of Dr. Inglis’ nieces

who worked at Royaumont from January 1915.
43

;

1
if
if

44 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

each hut were growing potatoes, lettuces, peas, cabbayes,
etc., and in front of the laboratory, office, kitchen, and
vétement huts there were tiny flower gardens, tended
by the staffs of these huts with the greatest care. We
grew to be very proud of our vegetable and flower
gardens, and very soon notices began to appear with
‘Please do not throw soapy water here ; these are peas,’
and ‘ Please do not throw hot water on the lettuces.’

“The winter of 1917-1018 was very cold. On the
coldest night a thermometer inside one of the sleeping
huts registered twenty-two degrees of frost. Our breath
froze to the sheets, our hair to the pillows, our rubber
boots to the floor, our sponges would have seriously
hurt any one if by chance we had used them as bombs,
and hot water spilled on the floor would in five minutes
be frozen solid. The camp was under snow for three
months, and huge icicles hung from the roofs of the huts,
During all this time the health of the Unit was better
than it had ever been. The night orderlies had a hard
time, as many a night they would have to carry food
from the kitchen hut to the difierent wards, it- being
quite impossible to cook food in the ward kitchens, An
icy gale might be blowing and snow whirling round them,
the night as black as pitch, and it would be quite im-
possible for them to see where they were going, or to
keep clear of the deep ditches. Often at night in
‘Britain’ [have just been able to ke sp warm by sitting
close up against the ward stove (a huge monster of selid
iron), which if well stoked would become red-hot, dressed,
in addition to my indoor uniform, in a thick jersey, scarf,
and overcoat —and every member of the S.\W.EL. knows
how warm that garment is. The people in che town
told us it was the coldest winter since 1870.

* One of the features of our Hospital was the concerts
held each week in a different hut. One of the first

Re CODER ETS

VILLE

-—

ee ee

VILLERS COTTERETS 45

questions a man was asked by his next-door neighbour,
when he arrived at our camp, was, ‘Can you sing?’ And
if the answer was ‘ Yes,’ as it nearly always was, he was
then asked as to the kind of songs he sang, and was
informed that at the concerts of les dames écossaises
only songs convenables et comme il faut were sung!

‘There must be many little Frenchchildren to-day who
have learned from their fathers new games undreamed of
before the war, such as Hunt the Slipper, Oranges and
Lemons, Nuts in May, and Musical Chairs. Their
fathers first played them at the S.W.H., and I am
sure that no child has entered into these games with
more real pleasure and spirit than did their crippled
fathers and brothers.

“Our one and only Christmas at Villers Cotterets
was a great success. We invited fifty Canadian lumber-
men over from their camp near by, to spend the after-
noon and evening with us. The Staff gave them a real
English tea, and afterwards a concert. Our dlessés
produced a play, acted and staged by themselves—a
clever skit on the TTospital. For the first time the Staff
saw themselves as others saw them. A reporter on the
staff of a Paris daily paper pays a visit to the hospital.
The most amusing parts of the piece were the absolute
calm and indifference, on the part of the Staff at the
explosion of a supposed bomb close by, and the wild
panic which takes place on news coming through that ‘Za
Colonelle’ (Miss Ivens) was on her way from Royau-
mont to pay the Hospital a flying visit! I can truthfully
say we never did ‘ panic’ when ‘ La Colone/le’ sent word
that she was on her way up, but we came within bowing
distance of it more than once. Royaumont had set such
a high standard, and we were afraid to fall below it.
We were a very young hospital, but 1 do not think we
ever disgraced the old place.

46 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

“Never shall I forget the noise of the bombardment
that last week of March 1918. It warned us of the
coming rush of work, but it was only when on the second
day three ambulances drew up at our camp and wounded
Canadians were lifted out and carried into the receiving
ward, that we realised that the Germans had broken
through on the British front. These men belonged to
the Fort Garry Horse. They had found their way, when
cut off, into the French lines, and it was there they were
wounded. We had never had Canadians in our camp be-
fore, and if these men were typical of the Canadian soldier,
it is no wonder he is so famous. The majority were very
dangerously wounded and needed immediate operation.
Their surprise when they first realised that they had
landed in a British hospital behind the French lines,
and that the hospital was staffed sy women, bereft them
almost entirely of speech, and a Canadian is very seldom
at a loss for words wherewith to express himself. One
sergeant who recovered before the rest of the men, was
told that he was to be sent over to Blighty for con-
valescence and leave, but he begged to be allowed to
spend his leave with the S.W.H.

“Our camp had none of the quiet seclusion of
Royaumont. The town was a military centre, with a large
railway junction, and the camp was built on an important
branch of the main line ; a road ran past the entrance to
the camp directly to the front, consequently we knew a
little of what was taking place along our bit of front.

“Good Friday morning in March 1918 will always
stand out in my memory. It found us still hard at
work, after twenty-four hours of continuous labour,
attending to a trainload of wounded, who had arrived
the night betore. I remember how British troops were
in the forest, on all the roads, and resting in our camp,
how a continuous stream of refugees poured past the

VILLERS COTTERETS 47

hospital, and how a British padre, who was passing
with his men, stopped for an hour to hold a service for
the Staff in the Refectory Hut.

“When the German advance in March was stopped
before Amiens, our work at Villers Cotterets slackened,
but not so at Royaumont, which was now being used as
a Casualty Clearing Station. Six of our orderlies, who
had been sent for, arrived at the Abbey to find the Staff
almost played out. They were met at the gate by one
of the chauffeurs, covered from head to foot in dust, who
was almost too tired to speak ; but when asked, she
informed them that she could not remember when she
was last in bed, and certainly would not like to make
any definite statement as to when she would eventually
get there.!
| “When the work began to get lighter and the

, majority of the cases had been operated on, the
Villers Cotterets party was sent back. In April 1918
the hospital was placed under the control of the 6th
Army as Hopital auxiliaire darmce 30.
“Spring at Villers Cotterets was a very beautiful
time, wild tlowers grew thick in the woods. violets,
[ wild hyacinth and lily-of-the-valley. Little did we
think that we were to lose our Hospital within a week
[ or two. Our nights began to be less peaceful. For
) two wecks before the German advance, Gothas visited
‘ Villers Cotterets and all the towns on the main. line
every night. At ten-thirty every night as recularly
5 as clockwork the Gothas and a French ammunition
t ‘“ In the great Somme push of 1916, duriny the first wee k of July, all the
rest these chauffeurs vot was « i porters barrow at the railway stat nat
by a lucky char e the ir! | Way function before rw train of

. Manv a me have ki sn these , after Vernatninyg ther cars, come
to vards and theatres to vith the newls ved nded. and

the twenty

48 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

train would arrive at our camp at the same moment !
The railway line had a sharp bend in it just before it
reached the Hospital which the train found very difficult
to negotiate. The poor old engine would puff and
pant as it pulled its heavy load round the bend, but
above its wheezy expostulations could ever be heard
the deep hum of the Gothas’ engines—we did not
like it, to say the least of it. We could picture to our-
selves only too vividly the result of an aerial torpedo
on that train, dropped as it was puffing its weary way
past the camp.

“When the news came through that the Germans
were attacking along the Chemin des Dames, reinforce-
ments for our camp were sent from Royaumont. That
last week at Villers Cotterets will ever be remembered
by the Staff as a terrible nightmare. Night after night
Gothas flew over the Hospital on their way to bomb
Villers Cotterets, Crépy, Senlis, Chantilly, and Paris—
day after day smaller German planes flew over and
dropped bombs on the town. The orderly who went
every day to fetch the letters from the Military Post
Office in the town, had one or two narrow escapes,
but she stuck to her work up to the day we evacuated,
For the last four nights we were allowed no. electric
light in the camp, and the operations had to be per-
formed by candlelight. Only the very worst cases were
sent in, the others were immediately evacuated. The
pluck and endurance of these men were very wonderful.
They had been days without food, always retreating in
front of an enemy far superior in numbers. Their wounds
were terrible, and in. most cases they arrived at the
hospital minus even a field dressing. Lying on their
stretchers they could hear hour after hour the Gothas
passing overhead, and the explosions of the bombs close

by. but not one man showed signs of panic or lost his

VILLERS COTTERETS

nerve. They lay quietly Waiting their turn to go into the
operation theatre. For four nights and three days the
Staffs of the theatre and the receiving wards worked
without ceasing except for meals. We began to lose all
sense of time, and worked like machines. On the last
morning when we stopped for breakfast, Theatre Sister
went fast asleep sitting bolt upright on a bench, and
she had to be shaken before she could be awakened,

“On the morning of 29th May Miss Ivens received
orders to be ready to evacuate that evening, as the
enemy was advancing rapidly, and it was too danverous
to remain. Soissons had fallen, La Ferté-Millon, a
town eight miles to the east of us, had been taken that
day. The Staff were given ten minutes to pack up all
their personal belongings, but were warned that every-
thing would most likely be left: behind. The work of
the Hospital continued till 4.30 p.m., when all the instru-
ments, basins, etc., in the operating theatre were bundled
into sacks, and fires were allowed to LO out.

‘Just as the operating tables were Le inv folded
up, Miss Ivens came in to say that the authorities had
asked us to stay on and work during the night, as many
bad cases were coming in. = Ours was the only EHlospital
left in working order in the district. The theatre was
again set going, and the X-ray installations were set up
by Miss Edith Stoney in less than two hours, and wounded
were shortly pouring in once more. .\]] that night the
Gothas passed backwards and forwards
and the noise from the exploding bombs was appalling,
Time after time, even the shaded lant rns in they
ceiving ward had to be put out, leaving the ward in
black darkness. A torpedo fell on our old friend the
ammunition train-—luckily not near the camp-—-and the
sky was lit up for miles around by the fire
caused by the explod ne shells.

overhead,

re.

that was

so SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

“Finally orders came on the morning of 30th May
to stop operations and prepare to evacuate, The junior
orderlies were sent down to Royaumont by car, and
party of doctors, sisters, and orderlies left the camp on
foot early in the afternoon to walk into safety. Tt was
«a blazing hot day, and the roads were marked by clouds
of dust hanging over the retreating army and the
hundreds of refugees. Whilst the remaining Staff were
waiting for the cars from Royaumont, they busied
themselves by redoing dressings and giving food to
the déessés and wrapping them in dressing - gowns
and blankets, so that they should be ready immediately
the cars arrived. By the time the first car appeared on
the scene Villers Cotterets was being bombarded.
Doctors, sisters, and orderlies got to work with the
stretchers, and by 7.30 p.m. every man had been got
away. The noise of the approaching guns was terrific.
The remaining Staff left shortly afterwards in) two
motor-lorries. The saddest sight of that last week at
Villers Cotterets was the less seriously wounded men
streaming along the roads dead tired, and, in many
cases, almost unable to drag themselves along. The
first lorry passed through Chantilly during a big raid,
and it was a question whether the Gothas or the lorry
would get to the station first—we won the race, and
so got to Royaumont safe but very tired.”

The ambulances having safely deposited their loads
at Royaumont returned to Villers Cotterets to find
all the wounded and Staff evacuated, and were able to
pick up walking cases on the road and a big supply of
petrol for other possible emeryencies.

REACH Rte

CHAPTER EV
ROYAUMONT, 1918

A FTER the losing of Villers Cotterets both |

worked together at Royaumont until
1918, The months of June, July, and part ot August
were the hardest times the Hospital had
Its resources were taxed to th

nits

December

experienced,
e€ utmost, but the Staff rose
to the occasion and passed through the time of pressure
triumphantly. On 29th December the Hospital began
toempty, 250 men being passed out, but it stayed open
until the end of February, as several men were too ill
to be discharged before then.

In the letter which follows we can mark the
growth of Royaumont during this last year, and the
amount of the work undertaken. As we read of the
600 beds asked for by the French Military Authorities,
we cannot but revert in memory to the six patients
sent in so cautiously in January 1915.

Miss Ivens, writing in July, reviews the work at
Royaumont since the evacuation of Villers

“a

Cotterets,
.. The following morning, 31st May, I returned

to Senlis to see for myself the Medecine Prin, pal, |
arrived during a conference of all the army medical
authorities involved, including — AL éc/e¢ u- 1 ns,
Général Sieur and the Médecin of the
Was to function as a clearing-station,
Our patients from there, and our

herieier
6th Army. Senlis
We were to fetch
Ct if qs ch i dl re 7 ale or
of H.A.A. 30, Villers Cotterets, were to

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52. SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

We got a load of wounded and took them back at once
with us. Two extra theatres wes. arranged. Matron
Lindsay took charge of one and Sister Everingham
from Villers Cotterets was to do the night work.

“So we have gone on. As Villers Cotterets was
an Army hospital and Royaumont Red Cross, I arranged
to fill up the papers so that there should be little
administrative difficulty. Since then the Service de
Santé also offered the Villers Cotterets Staff a hospital of
600 beds at Troyes, which I refused, as it was impossible
for us to do more than we were doing. Now the Army
has asked us to double our beds here, while Creil wants
us to keep 300. I have agreed to increase here to 600,
in huts provided by the Army, who are sending extra
beds and bedding. We are to have forty éxfirmuers.

“ Yesterday the flow of patients stopped and I went
to Senlis to see what had happened. I fortunately
came across the consulting surgeon of the roth Army,
who said the Médecin-Chef of the Gare Régulatrice had
asked to have our beds reserved—kept empty for
emergencies at Creil. He took me round his hospitals,
which were splendidly organized, and kept me to see
the Deputy Chief Inspector, who was coming that
afternoon. The consulting surgeon said he would
also like to have 300 beds at Royaumont for fresh cases,
which we were to fetch from an advance post. The
Deputy Chief Inspector M. Mercier and the Com-
mandant Verdet Kleber from the Ministre de la Guerre
brought me back to Royaumont and took a letter to
the Chief Inspector to get the permission of the Grand
Quartier Général that this should be done on the
understanding that we work directly under the Army as

H.A.A. 30. The necessary army order arrived on
sth July—in time for the big push of 18th July. Tam

. pee ere ey cart re © GB Yop aad ? raed
very glad, as it is much easier to work.

ROYAUMONT, 1918

The following extracts from the letter of a Royau-
mont orderly give us some insight into the work of
these last months from March onwards. For her
picture of “ La Colonelle ” we are grateful,

*. « « Miss Ivens, “La Colonelle,’ beloved and

respected by every man that passed through Royaumont,
was ne€ver too tired or too busy to go to the parties in
the wards, and this was a continual source of pleasure
to the men. It was also a perpetual wonder to them
that she took a persona! interest in them, and always
seemed to know all about them. They were not so
astonished at their own particular doctoresse_ being
interested in them, but that ‘La Colonelle’ should
know and name them and ask after their leg or arm or
their bronchitis or rheumatism always amazed them.
It was small wonder that they loved her. During one
of the worst rushes in the spring of 1918, a boy was
brought in with a dreadful leg, and as gas gangrene
had set in, amputation was necessary. The poor lad,
however, was too far gone, and there was no hope.
He knew he was dying, and kept asking for ‘La
Colonelle.’ Sister eventually sent to see if Miss Ivens
could spare time to come down and see the boy. Miss
Ivens had been operating night and day for days past
and, as it so happened, was just going to rest for half an
hour. But she came to the ward and sat with the boy,
doing everything for him herself till he died. Discipline
was really quite an easy matter—‘ Ces¢ Lordre de la
Colonedle’ was more than sufficient to obtain instant
obedience. Cut-and-dry rules were non-existent. Each
ward was a happy family with Sister at its head, and
the men fully realised and appreciated this. . . .

“In March 1918, amusements and picnics came to
an abrupt end.

ated before the Ger

Every case fit for transport was evacu-
man push began. Great was our

54 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

surprise, when the new d/essés began to arrive, to
see British officers and men brought in from the cars.
But after this first batch of about twenty we saw no
more British at tee except isolated men who
had fallen in with the French. Big convoys always
arrived at night, and almost invariably when an air raid
was taking place. Night after night the chauffeurs
were out, after a hard day’ s work, bringing in men
along roads that in peace time would Me been con-
sidered unsafe owing to the holes—and they could not
show any lights on account of the accompanying Hun
above. After a fortnight, things settled down a little,
and although the work was still heavy it was possible
during May to overtake it. After the evacuation of
Villers Cotterets on 31st May the men arrived in a
never-ending stream, a stretcher cases and all very
badly wounded, requiring immediate operation. The
wards were packed with operation cases. Men were
not kept in for more than thirty-six hours, if it were
at all possible to transport them. But a large number
had to be kept, as there were so many cases ‘of compli-
cated fractures, and abdominal, head, and lung injuries
not in a condition to be moved.

“One of our most devuted helpers was the old curé
from Asni¢res, a man well over seventy. Every day,
rain or sun, he tramped to and from the Hospital—
three kilometres each way. He attended to the men’s
little wants on arrival — distributed notepaper and
cigarettes and drinks, and in many cases wrote letters
for the men. He was very kind and jovial, and the
men loved his favourite jok: with which he greeted
them on arrival—‘A Royatiniont le secteur est ee
The Staff adored him, for he had a friendly word for
every member of it, and his admiration for ‘La Colonelle’

had no limit. Very often it was necessary to send for

VIEWS OF TH

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SENTS. WERI

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THRONGED WITH MEN BEATING.”

(70 /ace p.

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ROYAUMONT, 1918 55

him during the night to a dying man, and no matter
how hard his day's work had been he turned out imme-
diately. His goodness also extended to the relatives
of the déessés, who in many cases came from a great
distance. The curé found rooms for them among his
parishioners when his own house was full, and showed
them every possible courtesy.

“One day in June stands out very clearly. In the
morning a telephone message was received that two
hundred and fifty walking cases were being sent us for
dressing, and that they were to be sent on at once.
When they arrived, it was found that these poor men had
been on the road for over three days, going from one
dressing-station to another, and had had practically no
food. So Royaumont decided to feed them. Our French
cook, ‘ Michelet,’ rose magnificently to the occasion, as he
always did. The only available place to feed the men
was in the Cloisters, and accordingly they trooped out
there. They were provided first with soap, water,
and towels for a much-needed and appreciated wash,
and then with a good square meal of soup, cold meat
and salad, fruit and ‘pinard.’ It was a never-to-be-
forgotten sight. Dressings were going on, men were
being discharged, and all stretcher cases had to be taken
through the Cloisters, and the low stone seats were
thronged with men eating. Sister was heard to remark
that it was really like doing dressings in the middle of
Piccadilly Circus. In the middle of July word was
received to evacuate every possible case, and once more
we knew that something special was imminent. Soon
after Americans began to pour in, some very bad indeed.
The work was as heavy as ever, as we were working
as a Casualty Clearing Station. There was very little
respite until the armistice in November.”

In December, twenty-three members of both Units,

it
Fe }
he:
H
hi
FE)

56 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Royaumont and Villers Cotterets, were decorated with
the Croix de Guerre. Previously, on 26th February
1917, thirty members of the Royaumont Staff had re-
ceived the médaille d'honneur des Epidémies for the
general work done in the Hospital.

“On 12th December, just before its close, Royaumont
received its ereatest honour in the presentation of twenty-
three Croix de Guerre to its Staff. It was a singularly
picturesque ceremony, the beauty of the ancient Abbey
lending a touch of enchantment to this modern scene—
modern indeed, for where in the annals of history before
these last four revolutionary years is to be found an
instance of a woman's unit receiving military decorations
at the hands of a foreign government for direct par-
ticipation in war?

‘At two o'clock in the afternoon all the Staff were
gathered in the great hall now known as the ward
‘Canada.’ The beds had been cleared away from the
centre of the ward, but there still remained a row of
them down either side, in which were a number of the
remaining d/essés. The Staff stood at the far end, with
those who were to receive the Croix de Guerre in a line
in front. On the right-hand side was the band of the
12th Pataillon de Chasseurs Alpins. On the left the
mnfirniers attached to the Hospital were drawn up.
Owing to the departure of General Descoings for Alsace,
General Nourrisson, General Commanding the Direction
des Etapes de 1 Oucst du Groupe @’ Armée Maistre, was
to give the decorations. There were present also from
Paris, General Sir David Henderson and many other
British and French officers.

‘General Nourrisson and his Staff arrived at 2.30,
heralded by a fanfare from the Chasseurs with the
double flourish of their trumpets above their heads.
Then followed the ‘ Marseillaise,’ with all the military

VP RevauMont. 5;

OF THE S.W.H.

23 MEMBERS

OF THE CROIX DE GUERRI

PRESENTATION

ROYAUMONT, 1918 57

party standing at the salute. Next another fanfare was
given, and the ‘Citation’ for Miss Ivens read out—a
splendid and fitting tribute to her unceasing work of the
past four years and a magnificent honour to the Hospital.
She received the Croix de Guerre avec Palme. After
that the ‘Citations’ were read out for each group in
turn, the medal pinned on the breast in the name of the
President of the French Republic, and the accolade
given. Miss Ramsay-Smith received her decoration
for her work as Gestionnaire (Officier a’ Adm inistration)
of the Hépital Auxiliaire d’Armée No. 30, and is
doubtless the only woman holding such a position in
France.

“The ceremony ended with another fanfare, a short
speech of congratulation from the General, the ‘ Marseil-
laise’ again, and lastly, ‘God Save the King.’ It was
brief and impressive, and will be remembered long by
those who shared in it. It was a most gracious acknow-
ledgment by France of her debt to the Scottish Women’s
Hospitals of Royaumont and Villers Cotterets. The
following is Miss Ivens’ Citation :

“ORDRE No. 11.726 ‘D’

Grand Quartier Général des Armées
du Nord et du Nord-Est.

Le Marechal de France, Commandant-en-Chef, les
Armées Francaises du Nord et du Nord-Est, cite

a L’Ordre de L’Armeée.

Miss Ivens, Médecin-Chef de 'H.A.A,. 30
(Scottish Women’s Hospital)

’

“ Forgant l’admiration de tous, a assuré de jour et de
nuit le traitement des bless¢s francais et alliés an cours des

bombardements répétds de Villers Cotterets en Mai 1918,

<§ SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

‘A Vapproche de Vennemi, a replié sa formation au
dernier moment sur bAbbaye de KoyauMont ott elle a
continue sa mission humanitaire avec le plus absolu

dévouement.
“AL GRAND QUARI IER GENERAL,
le 20 Novembre Vyts.
Le Maréchal de France,
Commandant-en-Chef,
PETAIN.

‘ REPUBLIQUE FRANGAISE

Ministres

des Affaires Etrangéres,

H.E. Direction des Affaires

Politiques et Commerciales,

AFRIQUE.

“Paris, fe 31 Dicembre 1918.
“ MADEMOISELLE,—Danslesrapports qu'il m’a adressés

M. Prat, Consul Général, chargé par mon département
d'une mission d'assistance morale aux bless¢s musulmans
en traitement dans les formations sanitaires, ma Expose
les services qu’avec une science admirable et un dévoue-
ment au dessus de tout cloge vous n’avez cessé, vous et
vos ¢minentes collaboratrices, de rendre 4 nos s« dats au
cours de la guerre. I] ma fait connaitre les soins pleins
de sollicitude que vous avez prodigties non seulement
aux Francais, mais aussi aux trés nombreux tirailleurs
africains qui ont été en traitement dans les Hopitaux de
Royatimont ct de Villers Cotterets. Au moment ou,
aprés quatre anndes d'un labeur incessant pour l’'accom-
plissement de la Mission, que vous vous étiez donne et
qui, sous les fréquents bombardements de l’ennemi, n'a
pas été sans péril, je me fais un agrcable devoir de vous
exprimer toute mon admiration et ma sratitude la plus

ROYAUMONT, 1918

39
vive pour la belle ceuvre que vous

avez entreprise si
génércusement et que vous avi

ence & bonne fin
‘Agréez Mademoiselle pour vous et vos collabora-
trices, Thommage de mon profond respect,

G. DIacne.
Miss Frances Ivens,

Meédecin-Chet des Hopitaux de
RKoyatimont et de Villers Cotterets
& Royatimont, par Asni¢res-sur-Oise,”

Note. —For complete record of medical work done
Appendix,

at Royaumont, see

CHAPTER V
CANTEENS

N the summer of 1917 three canteens for the French
soldiers were opened by the S.W.H. The one at
Soissons was connected with Royaumont, and was part
of the work undertaken by Miss Ivens.
The two at Creil and Crépy-en-Valois were under
the supervision of Miss Tack, who had been a member
of the S.W.H. Staff since rgr5.

Milling Mente _

Soissons*

“Early in June 1917, when our C.M.O. was
negotiating for a possible advance hospital, she was
asked if the S.W.H. would undertake a canteen at
Soissons for French soldiers returning from leave. The
need was pressing, as at the time there was so much
movement on that front that the men often failed to
find their regiments or batteries where they expected,
and had to return to Soissons for further directions.
Although the Military Authorities provided sleeping
accommodation, they had no canteen, and as the shops
were all shut, the men arriving tired and hungry had
nowhere to geta meal. Returning from leave, the poz/z
receives no rations until he joins his regiment.

‘So it was arranged that four of the Staff should go
up two days later to start a canteen. Much excitement
prevailed at Royaumont until it was decided who the
lucky four should be, and those chosen felt a great
honour had been conferred on them.

? By Miss Toilitt, who was in charge of the canteen.
60

f
re
Pi
4d
j

CANTEENS 61

“ By the next evening the necessary equipment had
been collected. As there were no shops open at
Soissons, we knew we must be quite independent and
take all we were likely to need.

“At loam. on Wednesday, 6th June, all was packed
into the lorry, and off we started, followed by the envy,
good wishes, and cheers of the rest of the Staff. Just as
we left, one of them thrust into our hands a Union Jack,
across which she had hurriedly worked in red, ‘Welcome
to the S.W.H. Canteen.’ This flag hung in our gate-
Way all the time that the canteen was open.

“ The ride to Soissons, which took over two hours,
was most interesting. Parts of the road were camou-
flaged both sides and overhead with branches of trees,
to hide all traffic from the enemy, and as we neared the
town we had our first experience of shell-fire, when a
shell burst in a field close to us. To our astonishment
we were far too interested to be at all frightened, and
one of our party amused us by exclaiming, ‘Where did
that one goto? I never saw it coming !’

‘The town was almost empty of civilians, and under
military control. The Cathedral and many houses were
badly damaged by shells and bombs, the paths over-

grown and neglected, and the shops boarded up. There
was a general air of desolation, though there were
numbers of focdus in the streets,

“The Colonel, at whose suggestion we had come,
arranged for us to have bedrooms in an empty house in
the Avenue de la Gare, but as we had neither sitting-
room nor kitchen, we decided to live entirely at the

canteen, and he kindly invited us all to dinner that
evening,

‘When we arrived at the schoolhouse that was to
be our canteen, we found the rooms littered with torn
books, Papers, and all sorts of rubbish. Several soldiers

62 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPIPALS

had been told off to clear all this away, and they promised
it should be ready for us early next day.

‘We then called at the Town Hall, and the Mayor
kindly promised to lend us the tables and forms we
needed, and to send them for us.

“The food supplies were not so easily arranged.
We had been told we could order what we wanted from
the Ordnance Dépot, but various officials had to be
interviewed, and papers signed, so that they could not
promise anything until the Friday. Fortunately we had
a small private supply of provisions sent to one of
us from Blighty, and some eggs and oranges from
Royaumont, or we should have fared badly our
first day.

“ At dianer the Colonel spoke of the pitiable condition
of the villages nearer the Front, and sugecsted he might
take us early next day to see some of them. But we
must go in our own lorry, as no woman was allowed in
a military car in the War Zone. The idea of getting
nearer the Front, already only nine kilometres away,
pleased us much, and although the start was early we
were ready next morning at 7.45 to fetch the Colonel
from his billet.

“We crossed the river and found the villages the
other side just heaps of ruins, destroyed by shell and
fire. We saw the German trenches, but for fear of
unexploded shells were not allowed into them. The
orchards that we passed had every tree cither cut down
or killed by ring-barking. It all looked so desolate in
the bright June sunshine.

‘“ We returned by another route, crossing the river this
time by a pontoon bridge, and as we neared the town
the enemy started a lively bombardment of the railway
and the bridges over the river. This so upset our

1 ae ry . 1

fesaond the mone: tha Po eh ar ee eee | A firs aaa
(PiCMG Lie WILL, Uidit WiiCih WC arrived ait tie SCHOOI-

4
=
Ea

CANTEENS 63

house he told us we must pack into the lorry at once
and return to. Royaumont. When he sugested the
canteen he had considered the town safe, there having
been no shelling for several weeks, However, this did
not at all meet with our approval, and when we explained
that we were there entirely at our own risk, and unless
he absolutely forbade it we intended to have our canteen,
he gave in and our chauffeur wished us good luck and
started for Royaumont.

* By the end of the day we were almost ready
for customers. Floors were swept, tables and forms
scrubbed, crockery washed, etc., and only food supplies
lacking. However, when two tired, hungry Aozdus came
in late in the afternoon, we could not send them away,
but gave them what we had—eges, bread, and oranges
brought from Royaumont. They were most grateful.

“A corporal of the territorials had been told off to
sleep at the canteen and vive us any help possible. We
found him invaluable. No matter what we needed, he
was always able to supply, either from some ruined
house or by adapting something else.

“ When our first supplies arrived on Friday morning
we felt prepared for anything,

“On inquiring at the station we found that no trains
with troops were allowed as far as Soissons, but the men
had to walk from a small town. five kilometres away,
As there were only one or two trains a day, due in the

afternoon, our business would be chietly after midday,
Men who slept at the Jeyer in Soissons might want
breakfast, but that would be between Sandoam. We
decided to have the canteen open from S a.m. to 9 p.m.,
no one being allowed cut in the streets later than 9g. 30.

* The first day we had thirty-eight men in, all tired
and hungry and glad of a good meal. We had made

vs Pr. 1 PER z t
the tables gay with flowers from the gardens of the

i
i
f

Bit papaceinge

64 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

ruined houses round, and it all looked very attractive.
The men remarked at once on our pretty table arrange-
ments. W = always found the men loved the flowers.
We gave them tinned beef, bread, coffee, and cigarettes.
We were soon able to add to our menu fresh meat, good
soup made fre the bones and vegetables, and salad,
which the men .uuch appreciated. A smal! tin bath and
piece of soap had been put in the yard near the pump,
and there were very few of our clients, all the time we
were there, who did not take advantage of them to wash
and refresh themselves.

“From then on for a month we had a steady flow
of customers, averaging about forty-seven a day. This
does not seem a great number, but the appreciation of
the men made it well worth while. On our biggest day
we had 116 in.

‘In the entrance room we had magazines, newspapers,
notepaper and envelopes, and arranged that any letters
written should be fetched in the evening to catch the
military post.

‘ Through the kindness of the General in command,
our garden was cleared by some men from the Agri-
cultural Corps, and planted with seedling vegetables,
so that in about a fortnight we were growing all the
salad we needed. Three of these men voluntarily came
for a short time each day to keep all in order for us.

‘From the time of our first appearance in Soissons
we were a source of keen interest, and very soon an
officer from the Grand Quartier Général came to inquire
what we were doing there, and who had allowed us to
start a canteen. We produced a letter from the General
to our C.O., but were told that he had no right to ask
us to come; that only the G.Q.G. could do that.
Further, that being once in Soissons we could not
leave without permission from them. We were very

CANTEENS 65

glad to hear this,

as we had feared we should be sent
back at once.

So we just went on with
received Many visits from Officials,
papers. By the end of nearly six weeks they decided
we were to be trusted, and save us permits for ourselves
and our canteen, By this time the Military Authorities
had made arrangements for the men returning from leave
to be taken to their regiments in motor-lorries, so that
the real need of the canteen was over,
of the civil population had re
restaurants were being opened so that food could be
bought in the town. Our clients were few and not really
in need. When we spoke to the General of closin
down, he thanked us for our work,
need was over, thouch he

our work,
and signed many

Besides, many
turned, and shops and

fon
g
and owned that the
did not wish us to go if we
wanted to stop, As the hospital at Villers Cotterets was
about to open and there was much work there to be done,
it was decided to close the canteen,

“In the seven weeks that we were there 1681 meals
were served; and although we were told at the be-
ginning that we must be prepared for them to cost at
least one franc per head, we were pleased to find that,
thanks largely to our excellent cook, we h
better food than was expected,
over 60 centimes a meal,

ad given
at a cost of a fraction

* During all the time we were
bombarded the town three
for about an hour, trying ¢t

at Soissons the enemy
or four mornings a week
0 get the railway and the
bridges, and, as our canteen was situated just between
the river and the stauion, we worked to the whistle of
the shells overhead.
“On returning to our sleey

at our windows a

ing quarters we often stood
nd watched the b
shells, signal lichts of ail
sumeumes almost deafer guns on

ie
|

en
$i}
ii
i}
ii

66 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

the front. Few nights passed that we were not visited
by enemy airmen, and on several occasions bombs
were dropped within twenty-five yards of our house.
Fortunately for us, they dropped in the soft earth of
the garden, and no great damage was done, though
one night the vibration of bombs and guns caused a
huge mirror in one of the rooms to fall with a tremendous
crash.

“On Sundays we went two at a time to the military
service at the Cathedral, and it was a strange experience
to see the blue-clad soldiers, the elaborately robed
priests, and the handful of civilians worshipping with
the guns booming a few miles off, and the birds flying
in and out of the smashed roof and windows.

“The officers of the 4i¢me Chasseurs, who were
quartered in the town, were most kind to us, bringing
us newspapers every day and doing all they could to
help in any difficulty.

“Four British women so near the front were looked
upon as a sort of curiosity, and we had many callers
anxious to see what we were doing.

‘‘Our clients were well behaved, and even the one or
two who came in a little the worse for drink were most
grateful for the good meal, and surprised to find it given
free. Many of them said in our hearing that wherever
anything was beine done for /e pauvre porle it was the
British who were doing it. They told of their homes,
often in the destroyed area; of their families, and
showed us photos of their wives and children, some in
the hands of the enemy, others of whom they had heard
nothing for many months.

“Tt was with great regret that we left our beloved
canteen, where we had worked so happily together.

“The Croix de Guerre was afterwards awarded to
three of the workers ‘qui ont assuré avec zéle et

CANTEENS 67

dévouement le service de la cantine militaire de Soissons,
inalgré les nombreux bombardements de cette ville.’”

CANTEENS—CREIL!

“In August 1917 the Committee of the S.W.H.
were asked by the French Red Cross to take over
two canteens, the one at Creil, and the other at Crépy-
en-Valois, as the women who had hitherto run them were
going on to other work, The Committee consented and
sent the two éguzpes as requested, the Unit at Creil being
under the direction of Miss Jack, who had lately returned
from Macedonia, where she had been Administrator in
the Hospital at Ostrovo. She had already served in the
same capacity under Dr. Alice Hutchison in Serbia.

“Opened in the early days of 1915 by Mrs. Watkins
of the Women’s Emergency Corps, and subsequently
directed by Miss Monkhouse, the Creil canteen had
dene splendid work for more than two and a half ye
It was housed, if one may use the
guard’s van which ori

ars,
expression, in a
ginally stood in the station itself,
but was afterwards moved into the station yard, and
it was in the van that we took over the work in the
beginning of October 1917,

“We were very fond of the van
all rather
for

,and I think we were
sorry when about a month later we left it
the éarague—also in the station yard—which had
been specially built for us.

Two more workers joined
us, making six in all, so we fe

It quite a large community.
“The canteen was open from 3 p.m. till 8 am., and
we worked in three shifts: the first from > p-m. till
7-39 p.m. ; the second from 7,30 p.m. till ra.m.; and the
third from 1 am. till 8 am. when the workers went
home, and left the place to the French orderly—one of

the most important members of the Unit, who cleaned
1

By Miss Loudon and Miss Wedderburn,

eee

i
:

Lib’
Hs
§

68 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

the stoves and scrubbed the floor. The number of cups
of coffee given out during those seventeen hours varied
from 1500 to 2000,

Sometimes we gave bouillon or cocoa, and when the
weather grew colder our Directrice made //saxe for those
who wanted it. On high days and holidays we gave
sweets; and cigarettes, of course, as often as we could.
Needless to say they were the most appreciated of all
our gifts.

“The little court of the canteen which we shared with
the Co-opérative Militaire—a dry canteen where the
soldiers could buy bread, sausages, cheese, jam, sardines,
etc., and which separated us from the place where they
sold prvard—was an interesting sight when it was filled
with fordus of every sort and kind. There were smart
Chasseurs-a-pied, Chassears d'Afrique, and aziateurs,
There were men of the Legion, and Zouaves, who had
exchanged their picturesque dress for khaki; big black
Senegalese, brown Arabs, and yellow Anamites ; Spahis,
those glorious creatures in red fezes and blue cloaks,
and many others. But, after all, the typical foc/w is the
infantryman, trooper, gunner or sapper in the d/ez horizon,
the hero of a hundred fights, the man of Verdun and the
Chemin des Dames, to say nothing of the Somme and
the Marne. Sometimes he was full of life and vigour;
sometimes he was tired and had & cafara, which is the
‘hump ‘in its extremest and most ‘camelious’ form;
but he was always ready to fight to the end. ‘On les
aura, was his usual erecting, and, as a rule, he was easily
amused. The same litthe jokes came over and over
again and never palled. One of the best was the guart
enchatné, a cup which our chief had tied to the counter
with a bit of string, after the loss in one night of seven
of our precious mugs. Sometimes the men pretended
they were doyvs, and barked lustily. Sometimes they

CANTEENS 69

murmured, ‘Z'//omme Enchainé' [the name once borne
by Monsieur Clemenceau’s journal Z’/Zomme Libre|;
or, ‘Le Canard Enchainé, a reference to another paper
much read in the trenches.

“ Of course they always asked if there was eviole in the
coffee, and pretended to be very disappointed when we told
them that we only provided café nature. All the same,
they approved of our coffee, and only had one fault to
find—it was too hot. + I] est bon, votre jus, mais il est
chaud. Pas de crise de charbon chez vous!’

“One man who told us he spoke Enelish, and who
evidently wished to be complimentary, said the coff e was
‘clean and warm’: by which we hoped that he meant
‘clear and hot.’

“A pet tov was a monkey which climbed a string,
Every one played with it, so, naturally, it was soon broken,
We replaced it by another, which did not last much longer ;
but one day, when we had forgotten all about it, a poilu
came in for his coffee and ereeted us as old friends. He
seemed surprised that we did not recogiuse him, and at
last exclaimed, * Don't you remember me?) Why, I’m
the man who broke the monkey.’

‘

A great many of our ‘clients,’ as they called them-
selves, were men who had come back from leave, and
were looking for their regiments. It seemed rather like
a yame between the poc/e and the authorities, only the
unfortunate JorZe got the worst of it, as he drew neither
pay nor rations (he did receive two francs a day for food)
while he wandered over France, seeking the reviment
which appeared to be as elusive as the Scarlet Pimpernel.
One jolly Chasseur told us that he had lost his division
and was looking for it on the boulevards of Paris—nor
* We saw many interestine types at our counter

Stine unter. One

night a frail little chauffeur asked if he might come into

70 «=~SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

our back premises to read his office : he was a priest.
Another day one of my friends found herself deep in a
theological discussion with a poi/i who said he was a
Doctor of Divinity. She inquired of which university,
and was told, ‘Of Jerusalem’; and it transpired that this
particular soldier had once been a Dominican Friar in
a monastery in Jerusalem, but had since changed his
views.

“Once we gave coffee to a chansonnicr, a maker and
sinyver of songs, who was happily christened ‘the Beloved
Vagabond" by our chief, as he was (so she said) the very
inarrow of that lovable personality.

“One of our most welcome ‘clients’ was a séple
folie stationed in the town, who played the piano
divinely, He was the great-grandson of one of Napoleon's
Generals, and among ourselves he was known as ‘the
Duke. But it was as a musician that he shone, and
though the piano must often have made him wince, he
drew from it the most wonderful melody,

“We often had men who spoke English very well, and
we found that they had been in’ London, Birmingham,
Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other towns. We
even had one ‘client’? who asked ifany of us had been
to Stornoway. Tle was a fisherman, a pécheur a’ Aslande,
and knew the Hebrides well—which we did not.

* Creil Station was a sort of Charing Cross, being on
one of the main lines of communication with the front,
so we occasionally had a visit from our countrymen, and
very pleasant was it to see the khaki and to hear our
mother-tongue in its infinite variety, including,
American, for our cousins also looked in upon us
sometimes,

of COUrSe,

* Shortly after we moved to the édarague we started a
fover in the back part of our hut (there was another
joyer de sofdaé in the town which was opened during the

Ano
n's
the

and

and
1m,
We
een

nde,

on
nt,
ancl
our
rse,

CANTEENS 71

day)—a foyer that was enlarged almost at once, and even
then was too small to accommodate our clients comfortably,

“Tt was open from five o'clock to midnight, and one
of our hardest duties was to shut up, though the men
were always very good. Here they could play games—
cards, dominoes, and draughts; write their letters, and,
best of all, have music. We had a piano and a gramo-
phone, and sometimes they were both on duty tovether !
The for/e songs as a rule are delightful, full of ‘go,’ with
pretty airs and haunting refrains, and the men sang with
a will.

“Oddly enough one of their favourite sones was
‘Tipperary,’ and we generally had it two or three times
every night. Sometimes the soldiers themselves would
get up an impromptu concert, and do various ‘turns’;
and we have had step-dancing on a table by men who in
civil life were artistes at the Music Halls in Paris.

“ Before weleitt’ — -nteen the number of our wo-kers
increased, and we we nine in all. Among us we were
fortunate enough to have a violinist of the fir

and also a remarkably good pianist; and the men lo

to hear them play. Often and often when there was an
alerte, and all lights had to be put out, those two
have played in the dark, a potlw holding an electric torch
so that they could see the music and no more.

* Dvofik’s ‘ Humoreske ' always brings back to my
memory just such a nicht. Creil, being on one of the
direct routes to Paris, always received a call when the
Gothas were on their way to the capital. We were told
one day that the Boches had said they would drop a few

rosebuds on Creil, though the bouquet itself would be
reserved for Paris !

‘One of our saddest ex} ericnces was in the spring of
1918, when refugees, Heeing for the second time before
Pe | ” ies :: > j i . . a i
te German hordes, passed through Creil. The women

72) SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

and children and old people sheltered in one of the
baragues in the yard, and our Directrice gave them in
charge to one of her workers, who did what she could for
them.

“We could not do very much, but they did get hot
drinks and food, and the children were viven milk.

“Things had gone quietly with us for the first six
months—that is, until the ereat German Push in the end
of March tot8. Then we heard that the Boches were
only about twenty miles away, and we were told to pick
up and be ready te leave at a couple of hours’ notice.
The Colonel of a detachment of the British A.O.C.,,
which was stationed at Creil, most kindly promised to
look after us, and lend us a lorry if necd be, so we felt
fairly safe. We remained ‘packed’ for three weeks,
and then as the Boches came no farther, we unpacked
again.

“ Of course there were constint aéerfes, and d. cing
May scarcely a night passed without the Warning notes
of the bugle being heard. Bombs fell in the station
itself, and unhappily caused serious loss of lite, but the
canteen remained untouched. The authorities, however,
forbade us to open during the night, and accordingly we
shut down from 8.30 p.m. till 4a.m.—the hours when the
Gothas were at their liveliest.

“ There was very heavy bombing during the end of
May and the beginning of June, culminating in a
particularly fierce attack on Sth June. The canteen
workers were living in different houses in the town, and
next morning we exchanged experiences of one of the
most exciting nights we had ever passed. It was an
exciting time altogether. Nizht and day the lone lines
of camztons,—the French motor-lorries,—laden with guns,
men, and material of all sorts, thundered through the

narrow street of the little town on their way to the front:

Wety tO tit iFOtic 5

CANTEENS 73
white with the darkness came the beat of the Gothas, a
sound which we soon learned to distinguish from the
quicker throb of our own ae roplanes. The banging of
the big anti-aireraft guns and the rattle of the mitraille ‘USES
made sleep impossible while they lasted, but work still
went on during the sg The hours, however, vrew
shorter and shorter, and at last it was decide d to with-
draw the Unit from the canteen,

“On Sunday, oth June, our exodus began— part of
a greater exodus of the inhabitants of Creil which had
been voing on for some time ; weary of a nivhtly proces-
sion to caves in the French sense, and to caves in the
Ienclish sense of the word,- -huge underground places of
safety in the outskirts of the town,— many people had
left thei ir homes, by carriage, coach, ¢: irt, or whe ‘elbarrow !

“Tt was unnecessary for the whole eguipe to remain
to pack up, so all left except three. One of these
bicyeled to Royaumont to offer the re maining stores for
hospital use, and ¢: irs arrived in due course to take these
away. We packed—rather sadly, but glad to have been
able to stay as long as the canteen was really needed.
We felt that now the need no longer justified our
existence, as since the recent advance and constan t raids,
most of the fighting troops were sent by a different
route, or were rushed up to the line in cemrons without
a crane of visiting the canteen,

‘So the sun of the 13th of June was the last to shine
on the Caxtine des Dames Ecossaises. About 8 a.m. the
last guar¢ was filled, and the chief and the adjonte on
duty together pulled down the shutter of the guichel—
with resret. There only remained the cheerless dis-
mantling of the canteen and the foyer, pac king, making
final arrancements, and the saying sf ae byes. The
orderly looked his gloomiest, the canteen no longe ‘r looked

ea at ba yas eee

its cheery sci, oily Jouise, tie polisher of the marimites,

lias ceanaieattantiat

i
|

74. SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

smiled still, because she always smiled. Next day we
left for Paris, and after a few days there waiting for pass-
ports, reached London after eight and a half months’
most interesting work, carrying with us happy memories
of ‘notre frére le potlu.’

“All who have had the privilege of serving the forlu
know how wonderful he Is, as wonderful as our own
incomparable soldiers. We had the honour of a lying
visit and a word of thanks from General Pétain himself,
an honour of which we were, and are, very proud; but
our best reward came to us in the words of the men whom
we served : ‘Vere’, Madame. Ca fait du bien.”

Tur Canteen ar Crispy!
“20h Jay 1918.

* Créepy-en-Valois isa Gare régulatrice for the French
troops. This means a station in which trains arrive
from various parts of the front with men on leave.
The soldiers wait for some hours while the trains are
re-formed and sent off at specified hours to Brittany,
Orleans, the Pas de C lais, Marseilles, etc.

“There is a large cour in which they wait, contain-
ing shelters called sa//es de repos, a hairdresser's
establishment, a small hospital, a telegraph office, a
military canteen where wine, bread, fried potatoes,
tobacco, n “Wpapers, etc., are sold, and the Cantine des
Dans Feossaises, where we serve out hot coffee and
soup from 3 am. to 6.30 am., and from 10.30 a.m. to
2.30 p.m.

“Ttis not unusual for 15,000 men to pass through
in a day, but all do not patronise our canteen. Two
women are on at a time, each shift taking a forenoon
and the night following, and then being off for twenty-
four hours. Two larve windows, or rather shutters, are

* Miss Young’s Report.

CANTEENS 75

opened in the cantine, and a worker stands at each,
wearing a white veil, apron, and cuffs over a grey dress.
In front of her is a large enamelled basin of soup which
she ladles out into the gzarts, or tin cups, presented
by the Aoz/vs. An orderly stands behind and replenishes
the basins as required. When two marniites of soup,
each containing 100 litres, have been distributed, then
the coffee is given, and many a sigh of satisfaction is
heard at the sight of Ze don jus. The largest amount
we have distributed during the night-shift has been two
marniiles of soup and ten of coffee, 1200 litres in all.

‘The men stream past without cessation for about
two and a half hours, and although there is a darridve
and an orderly at each sortie to prevent over-eager clients
from coming the wrong way, there is sometimes difficulty
in regulating the traffic, and the workers have imperi-
ously or persuasively to call out from time to time,
‘Deégagez le passage, sil vous plait, messieurs, * Cir-
cules, Stl vous plait, ‘Avancez, and so on.

“ The clientele vary very much. On some nights
they are so quiet and orderly that all goes with mar-
vellous smoothness and rapidity, but on other occasions
avery lively lot turn up who are inclined to be obstre-
perous. ‘They endeavour to pass their gvarts to others
already at the windows, so that they may avoid the
trouble of arriving in the queue, and they have to
be told firmly but smilingly to faire de tour. The
unforgivable sin is when one jumps over the barrier.
If he is noticed in midair, he is immediately warned
that he will not be served, and frequently he drops back
to his place. Others, however, trust to not being
recognised when they arrive in front of the coffee jug,

and express great surprise at being told to return by
the extrve. They are usually quite good-natured about
it, though a few resent it, and the other foz/us consider

if
Hi
ie

76 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

it an entertaining incident, and are quite pleased that
fair play should be insisted on.

“There is little time to enter into conversation with
the men at night, but during the forenoon one has
sometimes long talks with them, and they are always
glad of a pleasant greeting, and respond with remark-
able readiness to any little joke, however trivial. Many
can speak a little Enolish, and those who know perhaps
one word, utter it loudly and distinctly as they pass
onwards, even if it be onl, ‘yes’ or ‘mees.’ The
men give us many kindly titles, and the same lady has
been addressed as grandmere and ma belle enfant within
ten minutes; Actite dame and Petite sre are quite
ordinary vreetings,

* The canteen is much appreciated at all times, but in
the terrific cold of last January it was an inestimable
boon to those men who arrived so cold and stiff that
they could with difficulty get out of the railway carriages,

“The heaviest trainload we vet is from Dankirk, a
journey which takes twelve hours. The other trains
come from Soissons and Fismes. the former bringin
men from the Marne and the Chemin des Dames, the
latter from the district about Rheims, We sometimes,
but not often, serve British, Canadian, American, and
Italian soldiers ; of course we see many French colonials
—Moroceans, Senegalese, and Anamites. The Variety
of colour in their uniforms and complexions is often
most striking and vives vreat pleasure to the eye. One
may see a very black Senegalese with gleaming eyes
and teeth, clad in horizon blue, with a scarlet or multi-
coloured scarf round his neck and a brivht ereen bag
sluny over his shoulder. Then there are the Arabs,
who wear khaki with red fez, and who are called the
‘Poppies.’ There is the well-known gay dress of the

Zouave and the dark blue. of gendarme or aviator.

;
a

CANTEENS 79

Purple trousers and searf are frequently worn with a
blue coat, and corduroy trousers of soft blue or putty
colour are extremely pretty. Khaki putties may be
worn with blue uniform, or blue putties and ca/otte with
khaki, and T once saw a pair of long leather boots of
a lovely crimson shade. There seems to be plenty of
scope for individual taste.

“Tt is often extremely cold serving, especially when a
wind blows into the canteen. We are practically in the
open air, and the soup sometimes blows out of the guarts
as we pour it in, It has proved, however, healthier
than work in a closed canteen, and colds have been rare.

“The heavy work is done entirely by three orderlies,
two of whom are always on duty with the workers.
while the third is ex repos. These men keep six stoves
going, which have to be frequently stoked, an operation
which causes a cloud of smoke and coal dust « very time,
The large marmite on each stove is lifted off on to a
trestle for a moment to allow of stoking, and then the
trestle is moved on to the next one. The mavrnzites of
boiling coffee and soup have to be transported from
the stoves to trestles also to allow of boiling up the
next supplies. A marmite of cold water takes three
hours to come to the boil. The soldiers take quite an
interest in the view of the canteen which they obtain

from the window, and often express admiration of the
double row of fourteen shining’ warnetes, the usual
verdict being that the canteen is tres den installée,”

“Since the great battle began on 21st March 1918
Si ed |

coat } ee ARON is Sow st 0 ee Pai are ee ak }
all Cave Nas ceased. The 0G? IS Geserted, but the

, c bide ke w 1
Canteen opens as usuai for stray soldiers, Some of whom

sicep in the dormitory. During several nichts also
we took coffee and soup to the station and served
refugees, wi ndering if we, ourselves, migat be in the
SAME cor tion before the day WAS OVET,

78 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

‘Amongst our visitors we are very proud to number
General Pétain, who came to see us on 2nd January
and thanked us most gracefully for what we were doing
for his soldiers.

‘British canteens in France do a great deal of good,
and no work could well give more pleasure to those who
have a knowledge of the language and a liking for our
gallant Allies.”

AF
ry
ig

d,
10
ar

«lopota

Spavo Jurton

‘eA Ee “PLAIN OF
| MON PENEGRO. 4 Kossovd
e im)

{

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ig Oe org F ,
Podehritza 97 f K y
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t ‘. * Monastir 77
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——— ie als bE !
——- ) ie ESS Te POSTEONY
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HOL MARI Eten, ace iayasave ie

KALLA SS
INP- OP RETR

MAP OF SERBIA.

Drawn by Mar Willam Smith for this Plistary.

PART THREE: SERBIA

Gla bedeas heise I

INTRODUCTORY

Y the seventh century the people occupying the

region of modern Serbia were Slavonic in
origin, and it was their destiny to retain the customs and
desires of the Slav people throughout all the vicissitudes
which came to them. From the arid Russian Steppes
they had reached a land of surpassing beauty. Four
great mountain ranges made junction within — its
boundaries, and at least four-fifths of the total area is
mountainous. Swiftly flowing torrents pass through
beautifully wooded defiles, giving to the artist a sense of
the picturesque and to the soldier visions of strategic
positions making successful defence easy, and to the
practical man offering a manifestation of unlimited power
waiting for adaptation,

“In sume degree the Serbian has developed all three
sides in his character, though his commercial instincts
have not been so apparent as his military and artistic
capacities. The temperate climate produces luxuriant
foliage and a wonderful vegetation. The wildness of
the Serbian Highlands has tended to evolve a hardy
race of mountaineers, “hose warlike proclivities have
never been allowed to rest. throuch any period of
prolonged peace.” !

‘The quotations are from Zhe Story of Serbia, by Leslie F. Church.

i
aa
|

80 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

It took four centuries for these loosely organized
tribes of the lower Danube to be formed into a nation
under their king, Stephen Voislav. The centuries had
been full of wars with neighbouring tribes and nations.
Stephen Voislav was a descendant of one of the most not-
able men in Serbian history, John Vladimir: “With a
mysterious dignity, reminding one of the ancient priest-
king Melchisedek, he flits across the broken century and
fills its hollow years with a fragrant presence, kingly and
not altogether unworthy of a saint. For the leader of a
warlike race to have earned the character of a peaceful
prince, full of honour and saintliness, would be remark-
able in any period of history. The fact that John
Vladimir survived the deathly silence of those times
sets one speculating as to the greatness of the man.”
Serbian history is full of heroes such as this—-men with
a strange mixture of warrior and saint in their com-
positon,

From the middle of the fourteenth century the on-
coming of the Turkish power became the ereat menace
to Serbia. In 1389 the battle of Kossoyo was foucht,
in Which the Serbians were completely crushed. After
this defeat there was one brief temporary time of. relief
for Serbia: an outstandine personality arose in the
person of John Efunvadi, who was called “The White
Knicht of Wallichia.” He led many brilliant campaions
against the Turks.

“Brillant as these campaigns were, th y were not
sufficient to sap the immense resources of the Ottoman
Empire. Bv July 1456 t e Turks had avain invested
Belevrade, and the most highly organised pians of sieve
were put into action. For the last time John Hunyadi
came to the rescue. By the most amazing and courageous
stratevy he relieved the beleavuecred city. His little force

Tr. 1 eo ee 90 4

re £ “ye il ti oa errs - + | =e | , Pe yt as a
penetrated the far-fl , 2 UPS LNCS, CStabiished itself 1m

a Pr eer cage

INTRODUCTORY 81

Belgrade, and finally sallied forth with amazing audacity,
to the complete discomfiture of the besiegers, Seldom
in military annals does one read of a more valiant and
impertinent success, Through the wonder, and the
terror, of the pall of smoke, that huny over the
the new Ottoman artillery, two figures stood
heroic. John Hunyadi, with bared sword and bright
armour, charged side by side with John of Capistrano
the Minorite in dull habit but with crucifix raised fearless]

above the din of battle. In utter confusion the Turkish
hordes fled. Amidst the rejoicing over this last
victory John Hunyadi died, in August 1456, As far as
Serbia was concerned the end had come.” For more
than four long centuries she lay under the rule of
Turkey. But never through all that dark period were
the Turks able “to penetrate the remaining Serbs with
their customs, their religion, or with fear.” « Wherever
Serbs were found—in Hungary, in Bosnia, in Dalmatia,
or Montenegro—they were singing the Pesnias or national
songs, which reminded them alternately of the glory of
Dushan and the shame of Kossovo, If they dwelt
fugitives in the heart of the mountains; if they remained
on sufferance in an alien land, or if they slept in the camps
of European armies, in whose ranks they were soldiers,
they never forgot they were Servians. The wonderful
compelling national poetry with its haunting music was
the common Property and prized possession of every
Serb, whatever his present lot might be. This bond,
coupled with their loyalty to the Serbian Church, kept
them sphitually a nation though they were separated by
miles or centuries from its practical reality.” And so
they continued to hold tovether, clinging tenaciously
to their yearning for freedom. Early in 1800 Kara

lines of
out sublimely

great

Georve (Black George) arase. Fe was chosen their
leader by the Serbian refugees, and carried all before bim.
6

82 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HTLOSPEPALS

Ife started the revolt against the Turkish rule, which
ended after many years of struggle i 1566, when the
last Turkish soldier was turned out of the forts of Serbia.
“The Soul of Serbia, immortal as it was, had burst its
bonds at last, and soared upwards sinving.”

A. strange people truly, my stical and warlike,
tenacious and lovable—difficult to be understood by the
practical nations of Europe—but surcly easy of compre-
hension by another small nation living ina mountainous
land, also mystical and warlike, and tenacious!

On 28th July r914 Austria declared war on Serbia.
The next day Russia was forced into: mobilising, and
Europe prepared for its greatest contlict. It was planned
that the beginnings of the Great War should be in Serbia.

The forces of the Dual Empire massed themselves
upon the banks of the Danube—their object was the
punishment of Serbia. For the small nation just emerge
ing from two previous wars, what hope was there?) Their
hope lay in the spirit of their forefathers. This spirit it was
that, animating the men of Serbia, led them to victory, and
at the Battle of the Ridges defeated their enemy. The un-
expected had happened, and ‘the punitive expedition ”
hurried back to the Danube. From the scandalously
filthy and overcrowded hospitals the Austrians left behind
them there sprang the awful scourge of typhus, But even
before the epidemic, which began in January 1915, swept
over the land, Serbia had well-nigh plumbed the depth
of suffering. Thousands of wounded men, Austrian and
Serb alike, choked to the doors every available house,
and these temporary hospitals were found all over the
country. The conditions created by these masses of
wounded became a problem too vast to be solved by the
handful of Serbian doctors. ‘Send us where we are
most needed” was always the insistent demand of Dr.
Inglis. In the destination of the second Unit of ihe

INTRODUCTORY 83
Scottish Women’s Hospitals this condition was fulfilled,
for right into the heart of this distressed little nation
went the Scottish Women in January tors, taking their
place in the “long-drawn-out battle” against wounds and
fever and death.

APR ott 2092

<o SRASFRS 8RS oT

SARIS en a TN Fa

CHAPTER [1
JANUARY—APRIL, 1915

‘The long :wn-out batde against fever, in which no woman played
the coward -- oman asked to come away. Dk ELSIE INGEIS,

Pees the fortnight in December 1gig when
z the women at Royaumont were at their work
of cleaning the Abbey the 2nd Unit of the S.W.H.
sailed) from Southampton under Dr. Eleanor Soltau,
bound for the stricken land of Serbia.

“When! we sailed, the position of Serbia scemed
hopeless. Belvrade, the capital, had fallen, and the last
news we received before sailing was that the Serbian
Army, lacking food and ammunition, was falling steadily
back before the Austrian invasion. While we were
in the Mediterranean the morning wireless to our
troopship Ccuntained the news of a great Serbia viccory,
and on our arrival at Salonika the news was confirmed,
so when we reached Serbia the country was almost free
from the enemy, and King Peter had held a service of
thanksviving in the Cathedral of Belgrade. So much has
happened in the course of the last few years that this
battle, one of the most brilliant exploits of the Great War,
has been rather lost sight of. It is known in Serbia as
the Battle of the Ridves, and was complete in every way.

‘The following account of the arrival of the S.W H. in Nraguievatz
is by Mr. William Smith of Aberdeen, who went out th Dr, Soltau’s Unit
as Transport Otficer. He did yeoman service for the Scottish Women in

Serbia. ‘To his per we also owe the story, given later, of one of the parties
in the Great Retreat.

EREDA,

soe RAN SE MRI EPE oe neeener ms: Pan Panam te rene hin

JANUARY—APRIL 1915 85

“At Salonika the Hospital got orders to entrain for
Kraguicvatz, in the north of Serbia, where help was
urgently needed, and we left Salonika the morning after
our arrival there. Our first stopping-place was Nish,
and it was well that we paused there, as it gave the
doctors and Staff some idea of the big job they would
have to tackle at Kracuievatz, On arrival at the station
we were met by the Army Authorities, and after break.
fast we were taken to see the largest Hospital in the town,
As we approached the building we passed a great number
of bullock wagons laden with wounded from the battle,
which was now nearing its close. The Hospital was full
to overflowing, and the wounded then arriving were
being placed on the road and Hospital yard (which was
inches deep in mud), until other accommodation could be
found for them. These ox wagons had taken several
days and nichts to the Journey, and you can imavine the
suffering of the wretched men with fractured limbs and
Worse Injuries. Many died on the journey, and their
bodies were left by the roadside. A few doctors and
orderlies were doing what they could to relieve the suffer-
ing, but the doctors were few and the patients all too
many, and they often waited their turn for hours in the
cold winter day before they found shelter. But if the
scene outside the Hospital was a pitiful one, within the
doors it was a thousand times worse, and I shall never
forget the scene of misery, suffering, and desolation we
found there. One of the largest buildings in the country
Was full to overtlowing, Every inch of space was
occupied—it was impossible to pass between the beds,
for the poor patients were mostly lying on the floor, some
on hay and straw, and others on the bare stone or wooden
floors. Sick and wounded lay crowded together— men
who had just undergone the amputation of limbs; men
in the grin of typhoid, dysentery, or frostbite; men dying

Past

86 =SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

some were dead. So close together were they lying
that one patient could not move without dis arbing his
neighbour. Numbers had heen lying there with their
wounds undressed for a week or more, and the slightest
Wound, through lack of attention, often cost aman a limb,
and sometimes his life. Under such conditions many
died of sheer neglect alone. The few doctors and nurses
were overwhelmed, and working night and day avainst
fearful odds and with few or no appliances or medical
stores. One surgeon told me that he had been several
days without chloroform, and even major operations had
been carried on without the aid of anasthetics. Worst
of all, there was no means of ventilating these dreadful
wards. The atmosphere was terrible—fit breedine-
ground for the plague which was about to descend on
this already sorely stricken people. Some three weeks
afterwards, in the midst of all this misery, confusion,
and neglect, came typhus fever in the most virulent
form, and before the authorities could do anything to
check the plague, it had spread from one end of the
country to the other. When the awful condition of
Serbia became known, help was sent from almost every
country in Europe, and after three or four months’
strenuous fiehting the epidemic was gradually got under,
but not before it had carried off between seventy and
eivhty thousand of the population,

“The doctors and nurses of the SWE... inured to
all manner of human suffering, and more or Jess prepared
for working under bad conditions, were, I think, struck
dumb with the horror of it ail, and there was no lack of
food for thought during the rest of our journey from Nish
to Kraguievatz.

“We arrived at Kraguievatz the following morning,
and one of the many hospitals in the town was handed
over to the Scottish Unit. It was much in the same

JANUARY—APRIL 1915 87

condition as the one we saw at Nish the previous day,
and which I have just described, but the whole Staff set
to, and ina week the place was transfigured. We had
brought everything necessary in the way of equipment,
even to bedsteads, blankets, and clothing of all kinds,
and we were not a little proud of our Hospital when
everything had been set voing. Our patients were both
Serbian and Austrian soldiers, friend and enemy lying
side by side, seemingly on excellent terms with each
other,”

One by one the wards were emptied, cleaned, and
whitewasned, the equipment was unpacked, and the
patients, washed and tidied, were tucked up comfortably
in the clean beds, with their bright red coverlets,
The men's gratitude kney no bounds, The Unit had
gone out with an equipment for 100 beds : they had
had vo take over 250 patients immediately on arrival.”

“ KWRAGUIEVATZ, January 1915.

“ Patients’ were sent to us in batches until our wards
were fu'l, and we still vet them at intervals when we
discharge convalescents, They come from other hospitals
in town, not fresh from the Front, as there has been no
fighting for some time lately. They come to us in a
terrible condition, having had absolutely no nursing.
You can imagine from. this, perhans, what the hospitals
are like. Itis really not the Serbians’ fault. The whole
country is one immense hospital—doctors, Serbs, and
prisoners alike work all day merely to get the dressines
done, and the drugs given out. There is no attempt at
nursiny—no Serbian women are trained for it, and they
have become apathetic during their three wars, Many are
refugees strugeling to keep some sort of a house together,

"The following extracts are from letters by different members of the
Staff to the Comnaittee.

88 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

“Vou must realise, too, that the patients are nc

slun ellers, but hate dirt and this utter discomfort
The, are splendid men, magnificent even when the
are dying of fever, but it is a most dreadful waste ot
fine human beings, . . , Hundreds and hundreds of
nurses and doctors are needed for Serbia, but especially
nurses... .

“You see we are ina very sad country, but it is the
pluckiest country in Europe, without exception. Here
they are with their best men perishing on every side,
and they make no complaint, and never think for a
moment of viving in, though the Austrians may be down
on them yet. Austria has treated them abominably,
and yet they are not bitter. Their prisoners get the
same treatment—miserable though it is—as their own
men do. Serbia is as proud as it is possible to be, and
does not want other countries to pity her. She is a
grand little country, and we all love her already, but she
is desolate with her three wars. Why, we have men in
our Hospital almost boys, who proudly show their three
scars——Turkish, Bulgar, and now Austrian.

“Well, we are settled here in the Crown Prince’s
house, and, although crowded, are very much more
comfortable than we expected to be. The Hospital is
five minutes’ walk away, and we have about 250
patients. .. . Their wounds are awful, and many of
them just come in to die. They have been so crowded,
too, in the last hospitals, that there is much fever. We,
however, have kept free of it, you will be glad to learn.
The place is full of Austrian prisoners, and they are
turned on to do all the work. They do all the heavy
work, carrying stretchers, cleaning, etc. ; also we have six
to clean our Hospital and keep it. It sounds as if we
might be very well looked after, but they are not much
good at housework,”

SERBIA.

are no
omfort.
n they
aste of
eds of
ecially

-is the

Here
y side,
fora
> down
inably,
et the
ir own
e, and
eis a
ut she
nen in
three

SERBIAN UNtr UNDER Dr. Fry ANOR SOLTAU.

ee .

rince’s
more
ital is
b ko
ny of
wded,
We,
learn.
‘y are
heavy
Ve SIX
if we
much

STAFF AND PATIENTS, KRAGUIEVATZ,

seo i om é
RS tent | resi. went rte: patents
2

JANUARY—APRIL, 1915 89

“KRAGUIEVATZ,
Thursday, 28th January 1915.

“ There are quite a number of hospitals in the town,
one of them being reserved for fever cases, of which
there are a creat many. There is a lady doctor working
there, Dr. Ross, a uative of Tain. She has SIX wards
to look efter, and no Nurses, only orderlies, and some-
times she jis glad to come over here just for a change.
There has been no wood all day in their Hospital, either
for cooking or heating. She says there is always some-
thing awanting there—one day no bread, another day
no eggs, or no milk. Our people have also had no
wood in the Hospital for two days. The steward of a
neighbouring Hospital kindly offered to get supplies for
us. He buys for his own Hospital of 600 beds and can
set us our supplies rather cheaper than | could buy
them in the market or in shops, so | go to him every
afternoon with my orders. His Hospital is in a school
building, the gymnasium, and every day I have to pass
through corridors where wounded men are lying on
Mattresses on the floor, as closely packed as possible,
the rooms being all filled with more seriously ill. There
are so many hospitals in the town that nearly all, or a
very large proportion, of the men one meets are damaged
in one way or another.

“Things seem to be a queer mix up here. Many of
the soldiers we see look like peasants in their own dress,
with a rifle put into their hands, while the officers wear
particularly smart uniforms. There are some very good
shops here, showing very beautiful materials, probably
very dear, and Parisian fashions. There is an agency

of Singer Sewing Machines Co., and Coats’ thread js
to be got.

‘‘ The language question is rather complicated, In

the whole Company there are three Serbian grammars

90 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

and several dictionaries, Serbian-German. | Nobo:ly has
time to study seriously, so it just means that we pick up a
few words as we goalong. An interview with a laundress
usually involves four pec ole. The Matroa speaks Eng-
lish, the laundress Serbian, IT come in with German, and
the kitchen-maid with German and Serbian. The same
thine has happened with other business. [ have been
called upon to act as interpreter for the X-ray operator,
who only knows a little German. At first the place was
a veritable Tower of Babel. There were a few orderlies
about, and when we tried to speak to them, they would
shake their heads in answer, one Czech, another Magyar
(all Austrian prisoners). These men were taken away
and other six, German-speaking ones, arrived. It seems
that about three-fourths of the Austrian Army are Slavs,
and probably sympathetic with the Serbs. Of the
men we have, two are teachers, one is an. official from
Vienna, one a farmer, one a day labourer from the Tyrol,
and the other a business porter. They have nearly all
been ill since coming here, and two are away with fever.
Some of them had been wounded, and all are ran down
with what they have come through. One is lame with
frostbitten feet. They do the rough work for us. The
woman who assists me is an Austrian, but was married
to a Serb, and lived in Schabatz, on the Save. ‘ler
husband is missing, and she lost her home and one otf
her children in the bombardment of the town. On the
waole they are all good friends, and between them all |
have quite a nice time.”

Towards the end of January the grim horrors of
typhus darkened the land. On 23rd January Dr. Soltau
telesraphed and wrote to the Committee in Edinburgh.
The telegram ran as follows: ‘ Dire necessity for fever
nurses. Can you send me ten or more overland ?
eee ee Pee kg i Os

BParinmentr moatterocere eorers [oe oar eee oe . =e
iii hay Se

5S S +I este
a-Qjuirpibeiit, iiaeePCssts, CUOVeTS, HGANACI, iic

JANUARY —APRIL 1915 gl

typhol, carbolic, tow, castor-oil.” In the letter she tells
of a conference of the medical men and women working
in Serbia, held at Skoplje, and gives details of her plan
for opening, with the approval of the Serbian authorities,
a special typhus hospital in Kraguievatz.

In answer to this letter Dr. Inglis wrote as follows :

“EDINBURGH, 9¢4 March 1915.

“Dear Dr. Sorrav,--Thanks very much for your
two interesting letters of the 23rd and 24th of February,
telling of the Conference at Skoplje and of your decision
to take up typhus work at Kraguievatz. I feel sure that
you are perfectly right, and you may count on our sup-
port. I shall write again officially to-morrow from the
Committee. I knew when you went out that we could
trust you to take the best line under the circumstances,
and not to be bound by red tape or any conventions
whatsoever, and [ feel sure that your decision about the
typhus hospital is right.

* Your second lot of ten nurses started on Saturday
with one cook. IT sent you a telegram immediately
after. Unfortunately, only the medical stores arrived in
time to catch the transport. The rest got held up some-
where on one of the three lines of rail they had to go
over between Edinburgh and Newport. I was dread-
fully distressed when I heard it, because I knew how
you were wanting extra sheets and blankets and all the
rest of the equipment. However, Mr. Smith’s letter
came, saying that Sir Thomas Lipton would be able to
take things out for us in the Arin, and we wrote to
iim at once asking how soon he could do this. If he
will do it, and do it soon, it will probably be better than
sending it by the next transport, as he will take it all the
way to Salonica.

“1 suppose it will be quite possible to keep your

92. SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

surgical hospital going as well as the new typhus one!
As you say, you will vive your Staff the choice of whether
they will vo there or not.

“T do feel so for you having all the extra worry of
these serious cases over and above the very strenuous
work you have to do, and I do hope that soon we shall
be able to send you out more help—in lced, I very much
hope I shall be able to come myself with the next Unit
if we send one.—Yours very sincerely,

“Esme Mavup Inaris.”

“ KRAGUIEVATZ, 13¢/ February 1916,

'* As for us, we are quite settled down, and seem
to have been here for months. The Hospital is set going
now, and I believe we have under our supervision about
300 patients, which, of course, is three times the number
we were prepared to have, but which is a miserably
small number out of the thousands of patients that there
are, even in this town alone. We have a school, and
another building attached, and four small “ast houses ”
for the more convalesceat cases, The other hospitals
are so badly off for accommodation, beds, clothes, and
comforts of any description, that the comfort of our place
seems almost selfish luxury. I have never seen any-
thing like the places we have seen since we came here,

‘ The hospitals here are just like those at Nish, only
theyare not quite so closely packed. The patients are lying
mostly on straw mattresses on the floor, or on wooden
beds, with only a rug over them, and often only the clothes
which they had on in the battlefield, Their food, which
consists of hard black bread always, and sometimes meat
or eggs, etc., lies beside them, also the few earthly be-
longings which they have managed to keep by them.

“ There has been an outbreak of enteric fever in the

‘The story of the Hospital continued,

one!
‘ther

vy of

IOUS
shall
ich
Jnit

JANUARY—APRIL 1915 93

trenches, and the patients are coming in every day in
bullock-carts from the north, and the authorities are
clearing as many patients out of the hospitals as thev
can to make room for them. Until the conditions can
be changed in the hospitals, I am afraid the outlook for
the patients is pretty hopeless, but it seems to me the
Serbs have been overwhelmed with the numbers of sick
and wounded, and scarcely know how to tackle things,
“Our Hospital makes a very bright spot in the midst
of it all, but we seem to be able to do so little compared
with the amount there is to be done. We have already
wired home for more nurses and doctors at the instiga-
tion of the Serbian Government, and are hoping that we
may ultimately be able to do something on a larger
scale. We have just heard that the sritish Red Cross
Society are coming out with doctors and nurses, and are
to stay in the house across the way from us, so alto-
gether there will be quite a large British contingent
among us. Our patients are enjoying, and thriving in,
the comfort we have been able to give them. It was a
great pleasure to see the joy they had in being clean
in a clean bed. Most of them have horribly septic
wounds, which through pressure of work are only being
dressed every four or five days. They are nearly all
young men, about twenty or twenty-five, but some of
them look like fifty. We are gradually restoring their
youth to some of them. When they are ill, they are
very patient, and when they are well, they are lively and
happy. I am Sorry to say they just get well to be sent
back to the ranks again. The Serbs are certainly a
magnificent race of men, and live simple, good lives, and
Would be happy if they had not to ficht. We spend
most of the day doing dressings, either in the dressing-
rooms or in the wards. We have an X-ray apparatus

fitted up in the house we use as the Home, and have to

94 SCOTTISEL WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

carry the patients alone on. stretchers to be N-rayed
One night we had been busy examining patients, and
had taken our current from the main which supplies only
the Crown Prince's house and the Noray outtit. Next
Morning an official was sent wong to request that we do all
the N-rayine before a stated hour, as the night before
the Crown Prince had been left in complete darkness !

“We have a very happy time inthe Home, Last
mht was tull moon and hard frost, so three of us set out
for a walk in the snow. It Was exquisite, and we vot
out into the country, and had a good tramp. IT have
never felt the cold so kee nly, and to-day my cheeks are
quite burnt with the sting,”

In March, to Dr. Soltau’s everlasting credit, she
added to the work of her surgical hospital, which was
lull of patients, the complete charge of a hospital for
typhus cases, a burden which was vladly undertaken by
her already hard-worked Statf,

* The | Lospital' was quite half a mile from our | Lome,
lying as it did on the outskirts of the town, but we were
generally glad of the walk, and attributed partly to it
that the health of the nurses remained so good. Cer-
tainly after rain a few remarks have been made about
Serbian roads in general, and this one in particular, for
the mud was thick and deep, and ponds were many. In
the evenings, coming home, it was quite dark, and often
rainy, but a little Jainyer (lantern) oulded our steps,
and our hearts were light with the knowiedge of good
work being done. Two senty; guarded the entrance
to the road which led on to the Hospital, and always
the Luglesha Sestra were cordi: lly greeted with Dodro
ulro! (Good morning), and Laky notch ! (Good night).

“Our costume in the wards Was hardly that of the

! by 4 Sister in the jever hospital.

ved
ana
mnty
ONE
rall
lore

atst
Out
vot
AVe
Are

she
Vas
for

JANUARY. APRIE, 1915 Qs

’

stercotyped English nurse, with eap and apron and stiff
collar, and our friends would not have recoonised us:
but precautions have to be taken to prevent infection,
Instead of the usual uniform and apron, we wore a white
cotton combination garment, with the ends tucked into
hich leather riding boots, Over this, for the sake of ap-
pearance, an overall was worn, and our hair was entirely
covered with a tight-fitting cap. Round neck and arms
we wore bandaves soaked in eat iphor oil, and Gur boots

re smeared with the same, so that no encouragement
vas given to the little inseet by which typhus is spread.

“We met with all sorts of typhus complications, but
how good it was to see men recover Whose cases seemed
so hopeless at first! Serbian men make splendid patients.
For the most part, they do as they are told, and take
their medicine very obediently —an excellent thing in
paticnts— but if at any time a man, perhaps delirious or
newly admitted, was inclined to balk at medicine or
nourishment, there was sure to be at hand some con-
valescent ready to explain how the medicine the Ses¢va
had given him had made him better, They were so
like children, these big men, that we could not help
getting very fond of our patients, and certainly we were
more than repaid by their gratitude. It is only fair
to say, that we were greatly helped in the wards by our
orderlies, for the most part Austrian prisoners, between
whom and the patients there existed a wonderfully vood
feeling, Among our patients were occasional prisoners,
but they were treated just the same by orderlies and
patients alike, and frequently it was only when a man
Was convalescent that we discovered him to be a prisoner.
The Serbs bear their enemies no ill-will.

“We found it necessary to open a women's ward—

; : 3
one day, without any Warning, &@ Woman was brouent,

and lett with us--and it was greatly appreciated. We

Segre,

SPetrs Ee te-s Cy

96 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

had our share of babies who accompanied their mothers,
and who were, of course, great pets. One little Zygani
baby, a little dark beauty, was in great demand in the
men’s wards, for above everything these great, big,
strong Serbian men love children, and they are also
very fond of flowers, Underneath their practical
exterior lies a deep vein of poetry, and they are lovers
of music and the Open country. Plucky they are to a
degree, and unafraid of death—perhaps because they
have so often met it face to face.”

Later still, a third hospital for recurrent fever was
taken over in the town, By the end of March the
Scottish Women were responsible for 550 beds, For the
hospital for recurrent fever only one doctor and a Sister
could be spared, but it was wonderful what these two
women accomplished.

Dreadfui as was the state of things in Kraguievatz,
news kept coming of a much worse condition of affairs in
Valjevo, a little town farther north. There the wounded
and fever-stricken men lay in their uniforms, absolutely
untended.

After her return home Dr. Soltau told the Committee
how incessantly Valjevo had been on her heart, but how
impossible it had been for her to organize any help for
the sufferers, Then she added : “ Though I could not
set up to Valjevo, one day Valjevo came down to me.
A row of bullock-carts drew up at the Hospital gates one
morning—they were laden with men from Valjevo.” It
was impossible to refuse them. They were taken in,
and though the ordinary work of the Hospital went on as
usual, the necessary operations were performed on these
men. Every one was suffering from gangrenous wounds,
The work was overwhelming, Dr, Soltau contracted
diphtheria, and the chief surgeon being also laid aside with
typhus, Dr. Soltau wired for Dr. Inglis. It was to this

1ers,
yani

the
big,
also
ical
/ers
Oe

hey

bt i ts

JANUARY—APRIL 1915

Hospital that Dr. Inglis came out in May 1915. The
“long-drawn-out battle” was drawing to a close when
she landed in Serbia. Help had been sent from nearly
every country in Europe, and Serbia « was fe
the cleanest country on earth.” The dread disease had
taken terrible toll of those who had fought so valiantly
against it. It didnot Spare, too, the Staff of the Scottish
Women’s Hospital: three out of the fifty who had been
sent out during these tragic months laid down the
—Sister Jordan, Miss Madge N
Minshull.

On rith May Dr, Inglis sent home to the Committee
her first report from Serbia, part of which is given :

ist becoming

ir lives
eil Fraser, and Sister

Report From Dr. Etsie Incuis

“ KRAGUIEV \T2, 1172 May 1915.

“The Unit here is in charge of three hospitals,
Reserve No. 3 (surgical), Reserve No. 6 (typhus), and
Reserve No, 7 (relapsing fever, anda considerable amount
of phthisis and general disease). The important depart-
ment of No. 7 is the Receiving Room, where the patients
have to be diavnosed and distributed to the other
hospitals ; especially is it of importance just now, because
of the typhus epidemic.

" The Surgical Hospital, No. cF
schoolhouse in two blocks, with a long courtyard be-
tween them. Down one side is a covered shed, part of
which is used as a kitchen for the patients, part as a
laundry, part for the Austrian orderlies to sleep in, and
the rest as a place for the convalescent patients to sit in,
The Hospital holds 170 beds, and is at Present nearly
full, mostly convalescents or old bad cases, but a certain

number of surgical cases continue to come in.
are a crent Manv cases far d-

is in the town, a

There

daily dressinus. Both the

98 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

operating theatre and the room for the dressings are
beautifully arranged and managed by Sister Boykett,
and are very creditable to an improvised hospital.

“The wards are small, and there are too many beds
in each, according to our standards, but many fewer than
there are in other hospitals I have seen here. The
wards are quite fresh: the windows always open.

“The Hospital is at present under the charge of
Dr. Chesney, who is doing excellent work. It is under-
staffed as regards Sisters, most. of them having been
drafted over to the Typhus Hospital. The five nurses
being sent on by Dr. Hutchison from Malta (who were
chosen for this Unit) arrive to-night, and Matron intends
to arrange that there are two night Sisters, one in each
block, four day Sisters, two in each block,

“The Typhus Hospital, No. 6, is on the outskirts of
the town, a big square building, which was, | believe,
barracks. It holds 200 patients, is overcrowded, from
our standard, but is clean and fresh and well arranged,
It is comparatively well staffed, fourteen Sisters, and when
the new ones arrive, sixteen. But its equipment might
be immensely improved. The di ctors who are working
there are—Dr. M'Vea, Dr. Corbett, and Dr, Laird.

“ The Relapsing Fever Hospital, No. 7. This is in
a building quite near No. 6, in the open country
(the real objection to both is that they stand on low
ground). It was an old palace, and then barracks, which
had been condemned. It was empty when it was turned
into a hospital. It is in two storeys. A long corridor
runs the whole length of the building, both upstairs and
down. Off them open the rooms, downstairs the patients
are received, upstairs are the wards, comparatively small
Square rooms; all overcrowded, The place will hold
200 beds, and has now 170 patients. The kitchen and
laundry are outside,

gs are
oykett,

v beds
r than

The

ge of
inder-

been
lurses
. were
tends

each

rts of
lieve,
from
ged,
when
light
king

is in
ntry
low
hich
rned
idor
and
ents
nall
10ld
and

JANUARY—APRIL 1915 99

“It has no equipment to speak of, and is being
worked by Dr. Brooke and one Sister, namely, Sister
Hollway! This, of course, sounds ridiculous, and it is
so ina sense. There is very little nursing or doctoring,
But there is no denying that those two women have
worked wonders in the place. The Austrian orderlies
are kept up to their duties. The patients, at any rate, get
the medicines which are ordered for them,
is fairly clean.

“For the present, until the Committee can send out
more nurses, the best we can do is to put on another day
Sister (so that the two on day duty may be able to get
proper time off), and a night Sister. At present Sister
Hollway goes on duty at seven, and Stays on till five,
excent for dinner, and Dr. Brooke makes her evening
visit between six and seven, and after that the Austrian
orderlies are left with no supervision,

“This is the work the Unit has undertaken, Yt
means that they made themselves responsible tor some-
thing like 570 beds! One can quite
they were almost driven into it

and the place

understand how
. In the face of the awful
need of the country, and there is no doubt at all that
they have done it excellently, and with a wonderful self-
devotion, The standard in all three hospitals is distin,

higher than that of the ordinary hospital here

Jand the
Surgical Tfospital is really well equipped and well ar-
ranged. The Serbian Consul at Salonika told us that
General Soubititch, the Chief Medical Officer of the
Serbian Army, had told him that the Scottish Women's
Hospital was the best in Serbia ; and the Consul added
that one thing that had made their work so helpful w

as
that they did not “expect impossibilitie

S of the country,’

but made the best of what they could get.

“T have heard the same thing several times, and Mr.

Des Graz, the British Minister at Nish, toid me that he

:
i
!
‘
i
|

eas ooahis-w et ee

100 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

could not speak too highly of the splendid work that had
been done.”

. . .

The Scottish Women were the second Unit to
reach Serbia in its time of need. Lady Paget with her
hospital has the proud distinction of being the first.
She was in the country as early as October 1914, and
her hospital at Skoplje did magnificent work through
the typhus epidemic and the “long, peaceful summer,”
She remained at her post after the Bulgar occupation
of the town, where she was taken prisoner, and did
not reach England again until March 1916. She was
decorated by the Crown Prince of Serbia with the order
of St. Sava, First Class. a cross of diamonds,

In a letter to Lady Brassey in August 1915, Lady
Paget says of the S.W.H. -

“The Scottish Women’s Units are doing splendid
work all over the country, and are much appreciated
by the Serbians, and what makes them especially
Valuable to this country is their adaptability. They are
ready and willing to adapt themselves to any condition
or circumstances : they never grumble or complain, are
always cheerful and smiling, always ready to lend a
helpine hand to any British or Serbian Unit who are
hard pressed, and their courage and the way they over-
come almost insurmountable difficulties is extraordinary,
Ralph and the Serbians have nothine but praise of
them, and if aul your nurses are like the three we have
here, then they must indeed be gems." T must say |
think creat credit is due to your ‘Selecting Committee’
for the way they choose their Staff, for [I have rarely
come across a nicer lot of people than those in the
S.W. Units. People speak very highly of the qualifica-

1 Three of the Scottish Women were lent to Lady Paget at this time,

vat had

Init to
ith her
* first.
4, and
rough
mer,
pation
d did
2 was
order

Lady

endid
ated
clally
y are
ition
, are
rd a
are
vVer-
Mary,
weston e
lave
iy |
tee’
rely
the
1ca-

JANUARY APRIL, 1915 101

tions of Mrs. Haverfield as an organizer and adminis.
trator. | hear she is extraordinarily capable and hard
working and energetic. Of all the Units out here
the S.W.H. have done the best work, so the Com-
mittee need not feel it has wasted jts money.”

From among the many stories of our patients we
give one full of pathos :

“Another boy, a real Austrian, had been shot in
the head, and had a certain part of his brain destroyed,
so that he is quite blind. He cried bitterly when Dr.
liollway asked him how long he had been so. When
he had been put to bed we asked him if he needed
anything, and he asked for the loaf of bread he had
brought with him, and sat up and ate it like a wolf.
We asked if he felt better, and he said, ‘Ja, itch och,’
quite tonelessly, Mostly he lies without a sound, |
pray he may die.

“T visited the blind Austrian boy who is in Sister
Hollway’s ward, where Miss Shepherd js “Pro,” just
to offer him ‘New Year’ greetings, He asked us
Whether the war was sull going on. | suppose the
poor child has been lying amone foreigners tor weeks,
We told him we were from Scotland, and he ntided
in-us. He asked to he helped to write to his sister,
his only relative. He has no idea of how fo; & he has
been blind and a priscier. ... We are getting: one
of the house orderlies who is our ‘tablemai.’ and an
ex-schoolmaster to see him to-morrow, and write his
letter for him. | cannot imagine anything more awful
than that boy has been through, that fecling of being
blind and helpless and utterly lost. among his cnemies,
Poor little Samson. Worse because he kiows only
his own language,

“On Friday we brought the Lehrer to visit our
Austrian boy, and they had a very long conversation

rasninahinnivn wileaiuplunseovietinn

tent osha

sess src tit orks pay

*
a

Praweers sere ey

at 2 Wel wee nee SR

102, SCOTTISH WOME} ’S HOSPITALS

together, during which the letter was written. It wa
handed over to a Serbian Red Cross Major afterward:
and will get through, I believe.

“This morning, Saturday, our Austrian boy Johan:
found to his delight that his sight had partly returned
He could make out my head and shoulder quite quickly
The Lehrer was delighted at his news, and told me
that poor Johann had asked der Jicbe Gott that he
might see again.

“Our X-ray apparatus now works very well, and
Dr. McDougal is quite in the best circles of Serbian
society, we tell her, for officers come to her, even from
Nish. We had several of Dr. Hollway’s cases to-day,
including Johann Frenzel, the half-blind boy. He can
see better every day, he says, and now can make out
some colours, but cannot tell one person from another,
I pay him a call every evening ; he is really a very
interesting case. He has been moved into another of
Sister Hollway’s wards, where the patients are very
kind to him: He js getting over his nervous break-
down, thanks very largely I think to Miss Shepherd,
Ye ke tue Schwester, who is sO patient with him, and
with another Serbian boy, who is really hardly human
and ts always crying out. Poor Jobann gives no trouble
like this, he was only too resivned at first, but he is
getting brichter,”

Itis a relief to leave Johann restored to sivht and
friends. If the Scottish Women had done no more
than save this poor laddie from darkness and loneliness
those who sent them eut would have felt it had been
worth while. But multipiy Johann ten thousandfold and

you get nearer the number. of those who have been

healed and helped and made happy by the members

of the S.W.H.

5
AN)

It was
rwards,

Johann
‘turned,
juickly,
old me
that he

Il, and
serbian
n from
to-day,
Te can
<e out
other,
very
her of
very
rreak-
herd,
‘ and
uman
ouble
he is

t and
more
iness
been
land
been

vbers

THE PEACEFUL SUMMER.

SERBIAN FE

8 INGEIS IN Srp,

Davy

BREAD Cary.

CHAPTER III

“THE LONG, PEACEFUL SUMMER”

HE story of the summer of 1915, between the
two storms of the typhus epidemic and the
invasion by the enemy, is told in the following chapter
in Dr. Inglis’ own words. The quotations are taken
from her weekly letters to the Committee. We see in
them how the work of the S.W.H. grew during those
months, and they bring Dr. Inglis before us vividly.
Her extraordinary genius for organizing (shared in by
so many of the women who have worked in the Units)
makes itself felt: and in her description of visits of in-
spection to the hospitals and camps of the S.W.H.,
and of her many journeys, from one town to another,
to interview the necessary authorities for the further-
ance of her many schemes, her energetic spirit lives
before us. The letters are full of numerous refer-
ences to her beloved Serbs, and readers will be
glad to know that “the lost Gloucester Castle equip-
ment,” so often mentioned, and for which such untiring
search was made, was eventually found.

“The peaceful summer” contains the story of the
Valjevo Unit. This, the 3rd Unit of the S.W.H., left
England in April under Dr. Alice Hutchison. It
was detained at Malta a fortnight by Lord Methuen
to look after our British wounded, and then on arrival
in Serbia was sent to Valjevo—“ poor little Valjevo,”
which had been so much on Dr. Soltau’s heart. The

equipment for this Hospital was the finest yet sent out

103

eit eetamaemsta rate nea TR rte rte i Lata Sherer ¥

Fae STE EG dae Ce

Sr ae a oe ee

lof SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

by the S.W.H. Extracts from Dr, Hutchison’s letters
given at the end of this chapter describe the work of
the Unit at Malta and at Valjevo.

When Dr. Inglis arrived in Serbia the idea of those
in authority was to have a line of “ blocking hospitals ”
in the north — at Mladanovatz, Posheravatz, and
Palanka. These hospitals were to act as disinfecting
camps, preventing any infectious diseases brought by
the army from spreading again into Serbia. The
surgical cases only were to be brought down to Kraguie-
vatz. The Scottish Women’s Hospitals were to pro-
vide these three camps. Dr. Hutchison's Unit, which
was then on its way from home, “the finest hospital
under canvas ever sent to the Balkans,” was to be sent
to Posheravatz. Of the three hospitals at Kraguievatz
the two fever ones were to be closed, and the Staff.
with their equipment supplemented by Sir Ralph Paget
from his store, were to form one Camp Hospital at
Mladanovatz ; for the Palanka Camp reinforcements
were wired for from Scotland. Eventually this scheme
fell through, but the S.W.H. formed a line in the north,
though not exactly in the same formation as had been
planned. Their blocking line was composed of the two
camp hospitals at Valjevo and Mladanovatz, under Drs,
Hutchison and McGregor respectively, and a Serbian
hospital at Lazarovatz staffed by the Scottish Women
under Dr. Hollway.

Dr. Incuis’ Lerrers.

“NISH, 4/2 June 1915.
“What brought me up to Nish was to see Sir
Ralph Paget about the new scheme, and also Dr, Hutehi-
son. Her Unit had been stopped here, because a
bridge has come down in the floods north of Kraguievatz
and south of Posheravatz, Dr, Hutchison i

ipment

THE LONG, PEACKFUL SUMMER 105

is, however, south of the bridge, and it has been suddenly
decided by the Serbian authorities that she is to go to
Valjevo at once, as the bridge cannot be mended for ten
days. Of course she is delighted, as that means work
at once; but it knocks the ‘scheme,’ which was a very
much bigger thing,—and I am safe in saying Colonel
Hunter's idea,—-on the head. The scheme was to block
the whole infectious disease, which always appears in
every army, up north, by these three big disinfecting
camps, and to bring only surgical cases south to
Kraguievatz. Now we again begin simply attacks on
isolated centres like Valjevo, which from all accounts
is bad enough, but unless we can make Mladanovatz
very fine and effective, I am afraid whatever attacks
the army will attack Serbia—as typhus did. I am
writing quite frankly, as this letter is to be brought
by hand.

‘Dr. Hutchison is looking very well, and all her
Unit whom I have seen—very pleased, too, with what
they were able to do at Malta. Sir Ralph savs_ the
Governor has written him a most eulogistic letter. — I
wonder if the War Office would let us send a real Unit
for our own men there.

“You can think of us really being of use—all three
hospitals at Kraguievatz have been full and very busy. In
the surgical one last week we had twenty-three operations,
and one man told Dr. Chesney that he was going to
write to his brother—a doctor in Bosnia (he is a prisoner)
—what magnificent surgeons the English are. Major
Protitch says this is the ‘best surgical hospital in
Serbia,’ but you must not take that too literally ; they
are awfully kind people, and love saying pleasant
things. Did I ever tell you that our Doctor's uniform
hat is really the Serbian army hat? I was amused when

”

T first saw it.

ee a eaten anam centtinn esses

FETT E TE | ELS CS

109 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

“IKRAGUIEVATZ, loth June 195.

And now for our news. My last letter went from
Nish, taken by Captain Bennett, and I told you Dr,
Hutchison had been ordered to Valjevo. Sir Ralph
got Colonel Hunter to come up, and everything seemed
all right, and we arranved that she and her sanitary
inspector and her three men should come on that night
with me, and the Unit follow in two days. Suddenly
—at six o'clock in the evening—she wot orders to take
her whole Unit up at once, The train started at eight.
With creat good luck she collected them all, and even
fed them, except two who were found missing at the
station, and Dr, Phillips had to go back for them. These
sudden bursts of energy in a people who generally love
delay are terribly upsetting !

“One delightful Serbian. officer—at Mladanovatz,
Where | spent a weary hour trying to nail Colonel ——
down to which site he intended to give us for our camp
—suddenly leaned forward and said to me in English,
‘Don’t lose heart, Madam - things go slower in Serbia
than in England!’ | did laugh. I might have said to
him that there are cataclysms in Serbia which break the
slow monotony, and certainly one of them carried Dr.
Hutchison’s Unit up to Valjevo, There is another funny
thing about Serbia, and that is that you seldom get the
reason for anything, I told you that Dr. Hutchison’s
Unit could not go to Posheravatz because a bridge was
down, Well! will you believe it, there was no bridge
down?) The next morning at Lapobo, the junction,
at 3 am. we found Mrs. Haverfield, Mr. Smith, and
Colonel Michalovitz, and when we all exclaimed, ‘ How
did you get here?’ they said that there was no railway
bridge down at all, only a road bridge which did not
affect the traffic. So \ hy Dr. Hutchison went. to
Valjevo remains a mystery. It may have been because

O15.
from
1 Dr.
Ralph
emed
itary
night
lenly
take
ight.
even
the
hese
love

yatz,
amp
lish,
rbia
d to
the
Dr.
nny
the
yn’s
Was

Ive

THE LONG, PEACEFUL SUMMER 107

there were movements of troops near the frontier at
Posheravatz ; it may have been because Miss Christitch
has arrived at Valjevo, and wants a hospital. Anyhow,
it was of a broken bridge, and she is at a point there
where she is much needed, and she is by now fully
installed... .

“. . . She leaned out of the window that morning, on
the train, with all her pretty red hair tluffy, in a blue
kimono. I was dreadfully afraid all these people I intro-
duced her to would not realise she was really head of a
Unit! Tlowever, I know that would not last long alter
they had had dealings with her.

“And now about our camp at Miadanovatz. After
innumerable delays, finally Mrs. Havertield, Dr. Laird
(who is, I told you, to stay here permanently in the
Surgical Hospital), and 1 went off in Colonel Gentitch’s
ear, with him and another Serbian officer, to Mladanovatz
for the wildest motor drive I ever had in my life. We
skidded at least fifty times in the course of the day, but
we never upset. We bumped all the day, and at one
time charged a string of boulders, which had been used
to mend the road, and get over then; but it was the
most glorious run as regards scenery. For alone way
the read ran along the top of hills, and we had the most
wonderful distant views of hills and valleys, and the
lights and shadows were magnificent. I don’t know
when I enjoyed anything so much. And we did the
business we set out to do, namely, chose our site. Un-
fortunately Colonel Michalovitz was still at Valjevo, and
Colonel Hlunter had just got his orders to go straight
off to Malta, and couid not spare the time to come ; but
one of his men, Captain C——, was there, and came up
in the nick of time; so we gota very good site, gently
sloping ground, with a cood water-supply, and an iron
shed at the back where we can put stores.

Sas ar

a es

OE cy

Taper Sapeapr es reevtaeg aad

108 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

“We shall miss Colonel Hunter and his youne men
very much. They have been extraordinarily helpful. To.
morrow the equipment goes. Matron and Sister Brown
have done all the separating and packing beautifully,
Sir Ralph Paget gave me 300 sheets, and with these and
your most generous equipment we can keep the Surgical
Hospital here fully up to the mark, and manage 300 beds
at Mladanovatz,”

“ MLADANOVATZ, 16¢h June i915.

‘The camp is on a slope facing the s.W., and there
is the most glorious view you can imagine across the
valley, and away to high hills in the distance. It has
been hard but most interesting work getting the Hospital
arranged, but now we are practically ready, and patients
may come any day—indeed, we expected some to-
ee

“T wish you could see our kitchen—thc jUaintest
little place, ina shed, which was here when we came, and
to which we have added another shed, the whole open all
round. And our incinerator—which | built! It burns
up everything so beautifully !”

The part of the letter which follows refers to a
question that had arisen, As the country was now com-
Piratively free of disease, were the S.W.H. and other
Hospital Units to accept this as likely to bea permanent
condition, and withdraw from Serbia to centres of creater
need, or was Provision to be made for the treatment
of the wounded from the battles Which would follow the
arrival of the British and lrench forces then confidently
expected? It will be seen what decision was aurived at,
ata conference of the Various Hospital Units held later,

“As to the future development of the work, your
telecram came this morning asking if the Serbian
authorities and Sir Ralph Paget want another Unit here,

men

To-

THE LONG, PEACEFUL SUMMER too

and it was that that finally decided me to go back to-
morrow and see the Chief of the Medical Department,
Colonel Gentitch. There is no doubt that there is very
little sickness in the country at present. The whole
point is how much they mean to prepare for the future,
and I'll wire after I have seen him. The last two letters
I have written will explain the situation, so I need not
go into it again. Mrs. Hunter's letter has arrived,
in which she says the Committee propose rather to
strengthen and equip the Units already out than send new
ones ; and that is an excellent policy at present,

‘Our Director here is very nice—Dr. Zdravkovitch
—Mmost anxious to help in every way. He is in
charge of another camp, a little nearer the village, on the
same hill. A trench marks the boundary between the
camps, and they call it ‘the Straits of Dover’! We
messed with them at first, but now we have our own
kitchen in working order, and all our Unit js up here.

“T got a Scotsman yesterday showing that the funds
have reached £28,000—apparently apart from the Welsh
and London funds. Good! What about a Unit to
Malta, or Alexandria, for our own men? Lord Methuen
would welcome them! He was very loath to let Dr.
Hutchison’s Unit come away.”

“ KRAGUIEVATZ, 22nd June 1915.

=the Valjevo camp is beautifully situated, lower
down the valley than that at Mladanovatz, but on slop-
ing ground with a good water-supply. It is, of course,
thoroughly well arranved, and every detail well thought
Out, as you would expect from Dr. Hutchison. General
M-——., the General in command of the Drina district,
came to see it when I was there, and was very pleased
with the whole thing. (Mladanovatz is under the
Belgrade command. )

Sen ea

Fas ae

= ws ae

hee ae ae

110 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

‘Wood is very precious here, so we have decided at
Mladanovatz not to put down our wooden-floors, but to use
the planks for dividing up the magazine. That would have
cost us £40 otherwise. The only tent in which we will
put a wooden floor is the operating theatre, and there we
shall make it in four pieces. There will be no heavy
beds, and we shall empty the theatre once a week, take
out the floor and scrub it, and spray the ground with
formalin.

“In the other tents we have cleared away the thick
grass, beaten the ground hard, and dug a decp trench
round to carry off the rain-water. The ground in the
tents is sprayed with formalin every morning.

There were seventy patients in yesterday morning at
Mladanovatz when I left, and they are coming in at the
rate of fifteen to twenty a day—medical cases entirely,
Some of them seem to be cases of pure fatigue. They
arrive with a temperature of 103° or 104°, they are put
to bed, given milk and some light supper, and the next
morning the temperature is normal. Then after a day or
two they begin to rouse up. Tincre were two bad pneu-
monias in, a case of rheumatic fever, and a man who
might possibly be enteric. Everybody is settling down
splendidly to their work. . .

“... One day IT got a message from Col. Gentitch
to say he would like to come over to say good-bye to the
Staff, who were going to Mladanovatz, and see some
Scottish dauces, after dinner. So I at once wrote off
and asked him to come to dinner ; and I also asked Capt.
Javanovitch —the Censor—-and Dr. Kopje, and Col.
Harrison, and we had a very nice evening. Two nights
after, they gave a banquet to the departing Unit-
which I missed, having started for Mladanovatz: and he
made the most extraordinarily warm speech, in which he
said the Scottish Women's Units «. ere always first in the

a
3
}

THE LONG, PEACEFUL SUMMER 3111

field, first when the war broke out, and first when the
bombs fell.

“ But perhaps the thing that will interest the Com-
mittee most was a conversation I had with Dr. Curcin.
He said to me that he did hope we would not lose
patience, and that we would realise that one of the
greatest difficulties in Serbia is that they are not used to
women doing this sort of work. He said, ‘At the
bottom of his heart Col. —— can never believe that a
woman can do a thing as well as a man! And,’ he
said, ‘the most of the men in Serbia are like that!
Now I know,’ he said, ‘that that is absurd, and,
Madam, I want you to realise that 1, and the men who
think like me, the advanced party, we are almost more
grateful to you for coming out and showing what women
can do, than for the Hospitals you have given us.’—Now,
wasn’t that nice ?

“As regards the work out here, when the move comes,
and I suppose that will be when Constantinople fails, or
the Russians gain a decisive victory, there will be a
tremendous need tor us! The whole army is massed on
the frontier, a quarter of a million of men (1 am offending
the Censor, so you will be careful—won't you?), We see
them streaming past at Mladanovatz, and they have only
about 300 Serbian doctors altogether. One hundred and
twenty-five of their doctors died during the typhus out-
break ; so you will see how short-handed they must be.
And we all know now how long it takes to get out help
from home, therefore it seems to me that the help ought
to be ready.

“... By the way, Mrs. Hunter says you have been
criticised for the meagreness of your equipment, II Zai
things people will say! Why, we are running 450 beds
at this moment with an equipment you sent out for 300!
And with only sheets and towels for 100 beds we shall

eC Sige Sz

ars “

112) SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

run 550 beds east/y! And in two hospitals — which
means the duplication of many things,

“Sir Ralph Paget has given us some delichtful boxes
of stores,

“ P.S.— Just home from the conference at Mrs.
Stobart's. General Soubititch, Head of the Red Cross,
was there, and Capt. Javanovitch. There is no un-
certainty about it at all. Col. Gentitch said definitely
that 0 one zs to leave, and all Units on the way fo come
at once. Capt. Javanovitch put it that this is the «lull
before the storm.’ [t is reported to-day that the German
Emperor has invited the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria
and Roumania to visit him at his Headquarters. If they
go against us there will be savage fighting here. Then
there is a possibility that Germany may try to break
through to help the Turks in the Dardanelles. In any
case ‘there is a storm brewing, and we must have every-
thing taut for the gale.” They did not mince matters
at all, and T pass it all on to you, knowing that you will
remember that the Censor has nol seen this letter.”

“ KRAGUIEVATZ, Ist July 1915.

“Tonly wish you could see both camps at Valjevo
and Mladanovatz. They are both in perfectly lovely
country and well placed. It was curious to go up on
the hill the evening TI was with Dr. Hutchison, and look
down on that peaceful valley, and the clean little white town,
and think what a change had come there since the winter.

“With Miss Holme arrived the two motors—the
Welsh ambulance and the seven-seater, Will you tell
the donors how very pleased we were to see them, and
how much they have been admired, especially the Welsh
ambulance, which we have been told js the finest ambul-
ance in Serbia. I cannot say I Zope they will soon be in
use, but I can say this, if the need arises, which is ev-

which

boxes

Mrs.
“TOSS,
) un-
litely
come

‘lull
‘man
raria
they
“hen

reak

any
ery-
tters
will

evo
vely

on
00k
wn,
LCF.
the
tell
und
Ish
ul -
in
oN

is
P

THE LONG, PEACEFUT, SUMMER 113

pected, it is a great thing to have two such cars ready,
Sir Ralph Paget says he will lend us two other ambulances
in that contingency also, till our other ones come out.

“Everything depends so much on events over which
we have no control, and there are SO Many possible con-
tingencies that it is very difficult to say definitely what
should be done, to my mind, but this much is certain, that
if anything does happen, this plucky little country will
necd help more than any other of our Allies, and Ww
definitely undertaken to help them.

“One way and another | have been able to see a
good deal of the country going from one of our
Hospitals to another, and up to Belgrade, and so on,
Most people find the travelling very tiring, but I must
say I have enjoyed it all. | have had the most extra-
ordinary luck—the Government have given mea free pass
over all the railways. Once | got into a Sanitary train
and was invited to breakfast by one of the doctors in
charge, | generally find my travelling companions
most interesting and ready to talk: twice | have travelled
with Serbian cfficers, who have told me a lot about the
country.

e have

“Iam going to take this letter down to the censor to-
morrow, and if he passes it I shall register ithome, | don't
know that I have thrown much light on your problem,
You must know better than we out here do where most
help is needed, and perhaps events will have settled the
question before this letter arrives. Anyhow, we have all
our plans ready, and my own feeling is that we can
probably be more helpful here than anywhere, though ]
would like a hospital ship at the Dardanelles!”

“ KRAGUIEVATZ, 10th July 1915,
“T have just be ading an article in the
é just been reading an article in tne

Times
which gives a very good account of the conditions here
8

114 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

now. You have probably seen it. The typhus is over,
there is no fighting for the moment, and the country is
wonderfully healthy. Sir Ralph Paget is coming to
Kraguievatz to-morrow—and has summoned a Confer-
ence of the Heads of British Units to consider the position.
I shall finish this letter to-morrow after the Conference
and tell you what takes place. My own feeling strongly is
that we should'wait here in readiness for emergencies which
must come, and when they come there will be no country
in more need than Serbia—with under 300 doctors and
no nurses whatsoever. In the meantime, it seems to me
there is a good deal we can do here. As soon as our
drugs arrive, and our tent-poles—which have stuck for
some unknown reason in Salonique—Dr. McGregor is
going to open a dispensary for the civil population at
Mladanovatz.

“Then we are arranging for Dr. Hollway and the
new doctors, with some Sisters, to take over a Serbian
hospital at Lazarovatz, and run it.

“. . . We are waiting to hear from Lazarovatz. And
I think it ought to be a most interesting bit of work, and
also a very fine experiment. I should like to see what
could be made of a Serbian hospital, using their own
workmen and their own things, and see how much more
is really needed. And Dr. Hollway likes the Serbians so
much that it ought to work out well. In a small way, I
have been trying the same in our Surgical Hospitals
here—for the new theatre and the improved sanitary
arrangements, etc. In the theatre, for instance, instead
of taking the glass cupboard for instruments, which we
might have had from the things sent out by the British
Government to Col. Hunter, I have had a_ first-rate
wooden cupboard made by an ordinary carpenter, and
painted white. And the iron stands, for the lotion bowls,

ol. Darrach is making for us at the Arsenal. And it

over,
try is
ng to
onfer-
sition.
rence
gly is
which
yuntry
rs and
to me
iS our
ck for
yor is
ion at

d the
serbian

And
<, and
what
- own
-more
ins SO
vay, |
spitals
nitary
istead
ch we
sritish
st-rate
r, and
bowls,
Sind it

THE LONG, PEACEFUL SUMMER

115

is going to be as nice a theatre as any in Serbia. By the
way, I got the concrete floor after all, thanks to Lieut.
R—., the engineer otiicer who is carrying out our improve.
ments. Getting the courtyard in order has been
exciting work. The cesspool, they admit,
emptied for four years.

quite
has not been
I think it is more like ten, We
have pumped and pumped and pumped, and then last
night they tried to empty it with buckets. One of the
carts broke down and upset the whole awful
the street. It was perfectly awful.
for five mortal weeks. We have
in three days than we man
before.

“They sent down ten Austrians to fill
pit of dirty water, but they sent no picks or shovels!
There were exactly two shovels and one pick in
Hospital, and when I went down, eight Austri
lying under the trees smoking—two we
throwing loose earth into the pit. When they got
to the end, another man dragved himself to his feet
and broke up some more ground with 1
the two overworked shovellers smoked.
for about ten minutes, and then I descended on them.
I asked for the officer in charge ; they said there Wasn't
one. Ten Austrian prisoners and nobody in charge,
you know!! Eventually we found the Serbian non-
commissioned officer asleep at the back of the bath-
room. I stood over them for two hours, and I don't
think those Austrians can have worked so hard since
they came to Serbia. They worked in
shifts three at a time, one breaking up earth and the
other two shovelling. In two hours we had made the
slope where the cart is to stand which

mess in
We have been at it
done, however, more
aged the three weeks
in a dreadful

ans were
re leisurely

e pick while
i watched this

five-minute

is to carry away

our dirty water, and thrown all the earth into the pit.
Then I went up to Col. G—'s office and said that if they

5 ae

ota. SF Ee eS ee. .

116 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S TOSPVPALS

wanted me to spend my time standing over Austrian
orderlies | was quite willing to do it, but TP thought it was
a job for their officers. “They were horrified. So all
yesterday and to-day there has been feverish energy,
and the place is tidied out of Knowledge. We have
half (!) emptied the cesspool. We have built an in-
cinerator for all the dressings (which before went into
the pond!) and solid refuse from the kitchen. We
made a ‘tamp, namely, a slope in which a cart with two
barrels will stand, and all dirty water will be emptied
into them, and carted to the fields. We are to have
two carts and a yoke of oxen, but don't be surprised
if you tind T have bought a yoke of oxen for you,
for we shall find it much easier to keep our carts circu-
lating if we control them entirely. And we have filled
in the awful pit or pond-—azd the Serbians have tidied
up the grass, which is so like them, the dear things.
While we struggle with the cesspool they make the
erass NICE.

“Well, that hospital will be a demonstration in
Kravuievatz of what they can or ought to do on their
own system with their own implements. | Everybody
who has seen the incinerator is so taken with it, trom
Col. Gentitch, who came especially to inspect it, to the
little peasant woinan next door, who stood rapt in ad-
miration saying, * Dodra’ (200d).

“The Conference is over. Sir Ralph and = Lady
Paget arrived here at 7 o'clock for breakfast, and we
had the Conference in our dining-room at 10.30, and
half the people stayed to lunch, and everybody came
back to tea and Miss Patrick’s Scotch scones!

“ The resolution, which was unanimously passed, ran
as follows:

“*That in view of the possibilities of the situation

heh |

this Conference decides that no British Unit at present

strian
t was
50 all
leroy,
have
n in-
| Into

We
h two
\puied
have
yrised

you,
circiu-
filled
ridlied
ngs,

» the

ymin
their
‘body
trom
oO the
n ad-

Lady
d we
and
came

i Tran

ation

Gecnr

THE LONG, PEACEFUL SUMMER 117

in Serbia shall leave the country. The Conference shall
mect again carly in September.’
ies hoe - tt ens
1 g to us, we are only 270
Strong.
“KRAGUIEVATZ, 19th July 1915.
Ob yisieats deine Nee en ee
vii ig er day Dr. Chesney
sotup a gymkhana for them in the Hospital yard—a very
simple lair. -and they did enjoy it so. A good many
of the thines had to be done by the Austrian pers id
for Instance, a stretcher race, where | thought it distinctly
safer to have a well man in the stretcher. But there
were several events for the patients : an egg-and-spoon
race, and a crutch race, and a needle-threading race—
when the Sisters threaded the needles. | went into the
wards in the middle to give some tobacco to the men
who could not come out, and heard the laughter and
cheers, and I could not help thinking, there we all were
— Turks and British and Serbs and Austrians all
playing together as happy as possible. Perhaps if we
played more together, and knew one another better,
such awful things as this war would not happen. We
ae some simple prizes—tobacco and civarettes and
“tives, Major Protege, our Director, came and said the
men were obviously so well that he was goine to send
them back on command at once--a joke that was Riccrety
ine . Dr. Chesney organized the whole affair
spendidly, and deserves a lot of credit. Somebody said
to me that it had been so nice that it was a pity we
ae not asked if the Crown Prince would come and give
HE ep eee nT
\ : 1oucght of it, for
then the Crown Prince would have Batena the awful
smells in our yard, and perhaps something would have

ota 1s Te. BSE z

118 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

been done, However, | gave the prizes, and we ended
by playing the Nati nal Anthem on the violin, and
singing ‘God Save the King.’

“T wish you could have seen us last Sunday afternoon
That was one of the unexpected things that happen,
We went up, some of us, quite unsu pecting, on a quiet,
sunshiny afternoon to the Stobart Camp for. serve
(by the way, we have one here every Sunday), and
instead of a calm service we spent the afternoon hanging
on to tent-ropes and rescuing patients from) under
collapsed tents. The wind suddenly got up. and in
about two minutes a peaceful camp was a roaring chaos,
Eventually, when it died down, there were seventeen
tents down, and five centre poles broken, I wish | had
time to tell you of all the funny things that happened.
Almost everybody's hair came down. One patient with
a crutch hurled himself out of the tent, and twisted
himself and his crutch into a rope and sat down on
it. In another place the patients were all found sitting
in a row—on the fly—but I must say they saved the
tent. Mrs. Stobart took it awfully well, and as nobody
is any the worse we can all laugh as much as we like.
I was so stiff I could hardly move the next day. Zhe
achievement was the cooks’. When we eventually
emerged with time to look round, we found the kitchen
fire sull alight, and the evening meal being cooked,
though all the tents, kitchen stores, ete., were down.
[am not sure that Mrs. Stobart did not nearly equal
them, for she invited us all to stay to supper! But we
didn't.

“I do not think you should alter the uniforms, for
everybody is beginning to know it—here, at any rate—
and people come up to one and say, ‘You are the Scottish
Women, aren't you? I travelled with your people on
such and such a boat, or met them in such and such a

nded
and

won
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. for
Le
ttish
on
cha

THE LONG, PEACEFUL SUMMER 119

place.” But could not a felt hat— soft—be added for un-

dress uniform, exactly to match the yrey of the winter
uniforms? Dr, Hutchison was asking, what has become
of the ‘serpents’ for her Unit?

“Tt was nice vetting a glimpse of her when she came
down tor the Conference, looking so well, [I have heard
all sorts of complimentary things about her camp: its
sprendid sanitary arrangements and good order,”

“SKOPLIE, 10th August 191 §,

* The Committee will be surprised at this address,
Lady Paget wired to me last Sunday and again on
Monday, asking me to come down and help them, as
they had some bad surgical cases and no surgeon. — |
had already lent her three of the new Sisters, and said
that Dr. Hollway could come for ten days or so. Dr.
Hollway was at Lazarovatz investigating the position
there, and she ivllowed me here and took over Dr.
Morrison's work—he is going home next week; Mrs.
Laurie knows him—125 beds and the surgical work,
and he went up to Belgrade to see what he could
arrange there about a surgeon. He wires that he is
coming back to-morrow morning, bringing a surgeon
with him. We all exclaimed, ‘Well done!’ So I shall
go off to-morrow night—straight to Mladanovatz, and
from there to Valjevo, where they are in great trouble—
Six cases of enteric—three doctors and three Sisters,

“After Valjevo [ shall go to Lazarovatz—which lies
between Valjevo and Mladanovatz—and see them fairly
started. Dr, Fi ilway's account is very interesting. It
is a village, and the ‘Hospital,’ which consists of 200
beds, is in eight different houses. really miscalled ‘vast
houses,’ It is a junction, and will be a splendid dress-
ing-station some day. We shall go thoroughly into the

equipment, but Dr. Hollway says there are 1000 sheets :

orang

}

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Se en ee ene

120 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

which makes me— think they expect developments
there. (By the way, not a single thing sent by the
Gloucester Castle has arrived yet. T told Mr. Smith
to wire direct to Lord Methuen.)

“Lady Paget's is a beautifully organized hospital—
ona hill about a mile out of Skoplje. They have 350
beds, and could expand in an emergency to 1000, Lady
Paget is the ‘soul’ of the place. IT have /4ev/ them three
of our new nurses. It really is a place to be proud of —
and so beautifully situated with glorious views of the hills.
There is a_ first-rate laboratory, and they have their
own carpenters’ shop and mechanics and everything.
Skoplje itself is very interesting—quite Turkish. Dr.
Maitland took me in yesterday, and it was interesting
walking through the bazaars. It is all quite different to
Northern Serbia.

“ P.S.—By the way, 1 bought that yoke of oxen for
Kraguievatz. It was quite necessary.”

“WVALIEVO, 15th August 1918.

“T wrote last week from Skoplje, and this is just
a little note to say I left there on Wednesday night,
Dr, Morrison and Dr. Turner, the surgeon he got
at Belgrade, arrivins on Wednesday morning. Lady
Paget telegraphed that Dr. McDougal and her party
had arrived at Salonika, and were travelling up in the
same train as she. They made a record journey, arriv-
ing in Kraguievatz a fortnight from the day they left
Southampton.

“IT wanted very much to come straight here and see
if Dr. Hutchison wanted help, but I thought it better to
place the new people first. This I did on Friday morn-
ing, and went on to Mladanovatz by car that afternoon,

ae: 1 an age :
and on ncre on sulurday,

Pts
the
nith

1l—
350
ady
ree
=
ills.
heir
ing,
Dr.
ing
C to

for

/
i
i
i

THE LONG, PEACEFUL SUMMER 121

“This is a very fine camp, and the Committee may
be very proud of it. Sir Ralph writes to me that he
inspected Dr. I lutchison’'s cainp, and that he ‘has
nothing but praise for it.’ It really is a splendid piece
of organization,

“The Staff all looked well, and there is an enormous
amount of supertluous energy, as there is in all the
British Units here !

“T go back by Lazarovatz to-morrow, and see them
fairly started. I'll send you a report about that as soon
as possible. Then I shall stop at Mladanovatz on my
way back, and see how it js working,

“This is such a lovely place. I seem to say that in
every letter—wherever I write from! But it is per-
fectly true, Serbia zs a lovely country. We are right up
among the hills here; and on this grey and rather misty
morning—we might be in Scotland. Could any Scots-
woman say anything more? But the blue blue skies and
the glorious sunshine are all Serbia.

“ P.S.—The Gloucester Castle things have not arrived
yet. Sir Ralph has wired to Lord Methuen about them
and Mr. Behrens in charge of our stores at Salonika will
send some one over if we do not hear svon.”

“ MLADANOVAIZ, 13¢h September 1915.
oe

I have all sorts of interesting things to tell
the Committee this week.

“First about the opening of the Fountain here.
This took place last Tuesday. Colonel Gentitch and
Colonel Michalovitz came up from Kraguievatz for it.

came up in two Cars—our seven-seater and an

ambulance car belonging to the Government. We
started at6am. We meant to start at 5 a.m., but that
Was quite good for this dear, unpunctual country, It is

curious how onc vets used to things. You remember |

~ OSes ot OP Ee. ES ee

122 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOST “ALS

told you what an awful road it was, the first time Mrs.
Haverf-id and I came here with the Colonel to
choose the site. Positively this time I thought the road
quite good! It was a much colder, greyer day than last
time, but still very beautiful, and we all enjoyed it. We
vot here at a quarter to ten, having stopped for coffee
at Topola, and Colonel Gentitch went round the camp,
which was awfully nice and neat, and then at cleven we
went to the Fountain.

“Tt was a dedication ceremony, five Greek priests
performed it. All the Bevis Camp (the rst British
Field Ambulance Corps), and all our people who could
be spared, and Serbian officers representing the arullery,
the cavalry, and the infantry, about twenty of them—
and some enyineer officers, friends of the architects, and
the squad of men who did the actual building. The
Fountain is between the camp and the villave, on
the same hill, looking right across to Kosmai, the
mountain where they fought one of their big battles
last year.

“A table covered with a white cloth stood in front
of the Fountain, and on it a silver crucifix, a bowl of
water, a long brown candle, lighted, and stuck in a
tumbler full of sand, and two bunches of basil, one fresh
and one dried. The priests in their canonicals ranged
themselves behind the table, and Colonel R-—-, who
is in command here, and Colonel Gentitch, and Coionel
B——, the head of che Medical Department, stood
facing them, and all the rest of us, round about. Quite
unconsciously we all got together on the right, the Bevis
people and us, and the Serbian officers on the left,
which was just as well when it came to the blessing and
sprinkling with the Holy Water. Tt would have made
an awtul muddle if we had all been mixed up. The
very first thing that happened was so impressive with

Mrs.
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Op ;
PENING OF THE FOUNTAIN VI ME ADANOVALZ

— i se P a r

THE LONG, PEACEFUL SUMMER 123

them all standing together like that, The service was
intoned, and at the first note, just as if it had been a
word of command, each man swept off his cap, and
crossed himself—just in a flash, like drill. They cross
themselves the opposite way to Catholics, from right to
left. The singing of the service was very beautiful ; the
priests passed the books from one to another, singing
alone, and then together. A peasant, dressed in ordinary
rough peasant clothes, swune the censer towards us and
the others and the priests, and whenever it was swung
towards any side the people there bowed. The service
went on, and the crucifix was dipped in the bowl for
some time. They blessed King Peter of Serbia,
Nicholas, Tsar of Russia, and George, King of Eng-
land. Then they turned round and blessed the Foun-
tain, sprinkling the water on it with the bunch of fresh
basil, first in front, and then all round to the back.
After that, one of the priests made an address, of which,
of course, we understood nothing except Lady Paget's
name ; but later on Colonel Michalovitz translated it into
French, and it was a very pretty little speech, saying how
grateful they were to the Scottish Women’s Hospitals,
and that they are a poor people, and cannot do big
things, but they had done this little thing to show they
were vrateful, and to keep the name of the Hospiials
‘tor ever’ in the countryside, so that the peasants always
would) remember. = When Lady Paget was ill the
peasants prayed in all the country in their little houses
for her recovery, Happily [ wasn’t ill, but they would
pray for blessings all the same. Wasn't it all prettily
put? Colonel Michalovitz stood in the middle and said
it all to me, and I felt, as a Suffragist who can speak,
T ought to make a speech in reply! But in the tirst
place T should have had to speak in French, and in the

second I knew they weren't used to women speaking,

niin. Pk Se ae

(24 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

so T just said I thanked them a thousand times, and they
did not seem to expect anything more,

* However, | have run ahead, for Colonel Michalo-
vitz did not make his translation till later, After the
Fountain had been blessed, and the address given, the
priest came to the front of the table, holding the crucifix
in his left hand and the basil in his right, and all the
officers there went up one by one, beginning with
Colonel Gentiteh, and the priest sprinkled the water
from the basil on their heads, and they kissed the
crucifix, and some of them kissed his hand. Then he
went round to where the squad of men_ stood. and
sprinkled them, but just walking alony in front of them,
not individually,

Phat was the end of the service, and Colonel
Michalovitz made his translation. The priests cave me
the two bunches of basil, the fresh and the dried one.
and these are some of the few things [I shall certainly
keep,

“Dr. McGrevor had invited all the Commanding
Officers, about fifteen of them, to lunch. and we all came
back here tovether, Unfortunately there was not room
to have the Bevis people too, They had made the MESS
tent so awfully pretty with red berries. and Char
their Austrian cook, who was a waiter at the Trocadero

when the war broke out, and had had ciehtees months
under a chef produced the most seco we luneht
Colonel Gentity h proposed my health. and ihe Director
throuch Colonel Michalovitz {for he canne speak
French), proposed Dr. MeGrevor's. and altovether the
Whole thine was most successful. Two of the priests
came up to lunch, and one of them sane Serbian oS LO

us alterwards. | do wish you could all have been here
It seems such a shame that we should see all these in

teresting things, and have all the tnterestine work

they +

alo- 3
the ‘
the
cifix
the
vith j
iter
the

ind

mM,

nel
me

THE LONG, PEACEFUL SUMMER 125

you should have all the drudgery at home. lverybody,
Mterally, here envies us our Committee. Your thorough
organization and your abundant supplies and constant
helpfulness makes us hear very often, ‘If only we had
your Committee.’

“We have got your papers about organization and
shail try to live up to them. They strike me as ex-
cellent. And will you tell) Mrs. Walker that the
Swastica sign on our bales and boxes is blessed by
everybody who has to do with equipment, British and
Serbian alike. It makes it so easy to pick out our
boxes.

“The second interesting thing is the work at
Lazarovatz. Colonel Gentitch said he would come on
there, after the opening of the Fountain: however, he found
he could not. But Colonel Michalovitz came. Colonel
Gentitch and the others went back in the Government
car, and Dr. McDougal, Colonel Michalovitz, and |
went on in the s-ven-seater. Colonel Michalovitz is a
splendid man for vetting things done, and we spent the
whole of the morning going round with him (next morn-
ing). As T told you, the Hospital at Lazarovatz is housed
in various houses in the village, private houses, and inns.
I don't know if the Censor will let this pass, but as |
want the red blankets, I yzes¢ tell you the number of
beds! We are expected to be ready for 600 beds there.
The Director has arranged that we shall have charve of
the store and the laundry for the whole Hospital, so we
are responsible for the care of the whole equipment.

“They are having quite a rush of work, considering
how healthy the country is. One day a division passed
through and left a hundred sick behind them. This
more than filled every bed we had ready. So you can
imagine our feclings the next evening when we suddeniy

heard that filty more were coming down the Ene. It

owes oe pee est we

a em

ose oe re

126 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

was really like war work, as one imagines it! We went
and turned out a gast house, people who had been sitting
there in the café helping to clear out the tables and
chairs, the proprictors helping too, and showing us where
extra wood was to be had, and so on. We swept the
whole place out to the light of storm lanterns, made a
roaring fire, got on some boiling water in the little
kitchen place, and then down on us came the patients,
beds, bedding, all together. Some of the men were
really ill, and all of them were dead tired. Fortunately
Serbian beds are made more quickly than our iron ones.
Mrs. Havertield came down in the nick of time with
all our house orderlies. We packed that house as no
English Hospital would ever dare to pack! But we
got a bed for each man. There was no question of
bathing, of course! We just tore off their uniforms and
their heavy muddy boots. Dr, McDougal wandered
round with tea, which they love (they had had their
rations all day and weren't hungry, but they gulped
down the tea), and it was good to see them sink back on
their pillows, saying, ‘ Lepfo, Sestra, lcppo, which means,
‘Tt is beautiful, Sister, beautiful.’ ”

“KRAGUIEVATZ, 2664 Seplember 1915.
“There are all sorts of exciting things to tell the
Committee, so Tam glad to have the Opportunity of
sending this home by Sister B You probably know
more of what is going on at home than we do here—but
the last week has been full of rumours. What seems to
be certain is that Bulearia is mobilising—probably to

attack Serbia; that Greece and Roumania are also
mobilising—object unknown; and that an Austrian—
some say German-—torce is massing on the frontier,
and that there is certain to be an attack on Belorade.
I travelled up from Nish yesterday, and the whole linc

WwW
It

i
i

amg

THE LONG, PEACEFUL SUMMER 127

was blocked with trains full of soldiers and transport.
We took twenty-one hours on the journey; started at
eight o'clock at night and got here at five o'clock the
next afternoon—dead tired! Last week Austrian acro-
planes were ‘announced,’ and the authorities evidently
believed the report; for the Arsenal was emptied of
workmen—and they don’t stop work willingly just now.
So—as a Serbian officer said to me yesterday—‘ Serbia
is exactly where she was a year ago.’ It does seem
hard lines on our little Ally. If only they could have
sent a British Expeditionary Force up here this summer,
it would have made absolutely all the difference—all the
Balkan States would have declared on our side, Germany
could not have got ammunition through to the Turks,
and probably things would have been easier for Russia.
I suppose one ought not to criticise-—but to lengthen our

line in France and have muddling diplomacy out here!
Of course I believe we have poured in money and
munitions and stores—but an Army Corps would have
simply solved -he situation.

“Well, as to how this affects us. Sir Ralph was
talking about the various possibilities. As long as the
Serbians fight we'll stick to them--retreat if necessary,
burning all our stores. If they are overwhelmed we
must escape—probably va Monteneero. Don't worry
about us. We won't do anything rash or foolish; and
if you will trust us to decide, as we must know most
about the situation out here, we J act rationally.

“Colonel Harrison was dining here last night and
says there are developments in the political situation,
and we must all be ready tor work immediately. We

tre awtully worried at the Gloucester Castle equipment
hot arriving-—tor if there is any rush T am afraid we
shall be short of dressings.

Colonel Gentitch is coming up with me next week to

128) SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

see Mladanovatz, Lazarovatz, and Valjevo. Your tele-
gram has come about calling Mladanovatz ‘The Neil
Fraser Hospital,’ and you will see from the enclosed
letter that he is very pleased. He spoke about it the
other night too.

“Mr. Smith is going over to Malta to try and find
that lost equipment. ,

“We have succeeded in vetting the cesspool closed
altogether, and are using the bucket system. Huz and
Buz—the two oxen we bought—do the carting. Such a
funny thing, we had to sign a special Act to have them
called Huz and Buz! It seemed their Serbian names
were something else, and you cannot alter an ox’s name
without an Act. 1 laughed till | cried, and now an
orderly comes up to salute and say solemnly something
about the fodder for ‘Hooz and Booz.’ | believe Dr.
Chesney has carefully explained to the whole Hospital
that they are Biblical characters, but what they make of
it all ] don’t know. When we had bought our own they
sent us down two more from the Military Hospital, which
is so like them, and they were promptly named Gog and
Magog ; but I have said those must be strictly pet names,
for Lam not going to sien Acts for alterine the names
of Government oxen.”

“MLADANOVATZ, 29¢h Sept. tots,

“ Mr. Smith is stillin Malta hunting forthe Gloucester
Cast/e things. [I may hear of them when | vo in te
Kraguievatz this afternoon. — | yencs vo to see Colonel
Gentitch about thin ‘s for Lazarovatz, wood for anew
laundry, etc. : and also the winter plans for here—but I
shall come up again to-morrow for the operations,

eae I meant to st tv at Nish only one day, but it
took so long to get all the things collected at the Red
Cross Store that I had to stay two. Sir Ralph has
established the most deli httuns Rest HH suse at Nish for

tele-
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nd
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VALJEVO 129

the use of the Units, just opposite the station, in little
white temporary buildings. It is such a comfort—the
cleanliness and orderliness. An American turned up
one afternoon while I was there, and sank into a deck-
chair, exclaiming, ‘How neat and English!’ It is a
most interesting place to stay in—all sorts and conditions
of Britishers drop in and out, going one way and
another. I saved up some nice things I heard for the
Committee.”

Of these let us give one: A man from another Unit
working in Serbia, during a conversation with Dr. Inglis
poured out his woes with regird to the dissensions in
his Unit. He wound up by saying, “ I suppose you never
have these troubles—you seem such a happy family !”
“T looked at him,” writes Dr. Inglis, “to see if he was
laughing. But he wasn't. He was in dead earnest. So
I! hid my smile and said, ‘Well, perhaps women can
manage other women better than men can!’ ”

And so “ the long, peaceful summer” drew to a close.
In the last letters we can hear the brewing of the storm
that was so soon to euvelop Serbia.

VALIEVO

Dr. Hutchison's letters which follow carry us back
aevain to the month ot April, when she with her Unit.
closely following on Jor, Inelis’ departure, sailed for
Serbia trom Cardiff. They tell the story of this particular
Unit trom the day ot its starting until it left Valjevo.

“SS. ‘CERAMIC,’ OFF COAST
OF SPAIN, Friday.
the last handkerchief-wavings at the Cale-
venrin Stiuon things went wonderfully smoothly, up to

OUF Ari ee raiytt

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SPO MP AS TO wa eS a

RE acl ge gee gee ee Pall

30 SCOTTISIE WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

“That night we spent in the docks, and only finally
set sail next morning at 9.30. What a strange and
unforgettable send-off we had. one which will live in the
memory forall time. To me it was so strongly suggestive
of the influence of the war in drawing us all nearer to
our fellow-creatures, known and unknown.

“Well, to describe our send-off having first piqued
your curiosity about it,

“We first caught sicht of some army nursing sisters
who, we soon learnt, had been prompted by a kindly
feeling to give us a heartening send-off. As we moved
slowly into the dock, I realised that quite a crowd was
gathering, and not a known face among them. Dock
labourers seemed to rise out. of the vround, so quickly
did their numbers swell, Grimy and untidy in their
working varb, they still were to me a more welcome
sight than any well-dressed crowd, Next came
‘ Tommmies,’ strolling along from odd corners tll quite a
company of them had assembled. A number of these
seated themselves on a suspended chain and regaled us
with * Pipperary’ and othe: songs — Welsh, Scotch, and
Enehsh ; we in turn fully contributed our share. Tests
were shouted up from the shore and quickly replied to

by the more nimble ‘tongued amone us,

“From the shore came: ‘Are we down-hearted 2?
To which we r plied with suitable vigour: «No! No!!
No!!!" «Are we voing to win?” shouted the crowd on
the shore, <“Vesi* we frantically cried. So the time

quickly passed as the waters rose in the dock, till a most
uneENXpected t uielinyax came with the slapping ot the
chain and) the pre Ipitation of a strugeling mass of

Pommies’ on to the -round, To this we shouted from
our Olympic heights, * Encore!’ And sll the waters
rose, and an increasing inclination showed itself among

the ° Pomimies ’ <O Cast off light music and jests and to

finally
» and
in the
estive
rer to

iqued

sters
indly
oved
Was
Dock
ickly
their
come
came
ite a
hese
dus
and
ests
1 to

VALJEVO 131

blend their voices more and more insiste ntly in a plaintive
‘Song of Farewell.’ Intervals came, when ringing
cheers were raised for us, to which the Chie f Medical
Officer replied by voicing the thanks of the company ;
but the ‘Song of Farewell’ became more and more the
dominant note, At last the yates were opened and the
Ceraniae took her stately course towards the Open sea
and the unknown, A few last cheers were raised, but
were quichly subdued by the ‘Song of Farewell.’ which
floated over the waters to us till it became only a faint
wail in the far distance

We are all a very darmonious company, and
WA person seems bent on making the expedition a bi

“CAMERATA, STRADA MERCANI,
MALTA, 8/4 Jay.

“IT seldom set out to do one thine, without tackling
something quite unexpected on the way, therefore
instead of now being somewhere near Salonika ey roule
for Serbia, [Tam workine with my Unit in a British
Military Hospital at Malta. At this moment [I am
sitting in the entrance courtyard of our Hospital, wait-
ing for the arrival of a fresin contingent of wounded,
We have the good fortune to be working in the building
Wuch was in the fifteenth century the Hospital of the
Knights of St. John. Now it is mercly called the
Violette Miltary Hospit ul, but those who have the inner

eye open, realise the immense attraction of working ina

building of such historic interest. Ente ‘ring by the
ravier insignificant doorway, you find yourself in a large,
square, fageed courtyard. — Brightly coloured flowers

Tow in what may have formerly been the central

fountain, and clamber up the walls to touch the
balustraded balcony, By the arched entrance at the
lar end you go down a flight of stairs and then procesd

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SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOS PITALS

along wide whitewashed corridors till you ente: the
gigantic wards, one of which holds 90 patients com-
fortably. So thick are the immense walls that on the
hottest day the air is deliciously cool in every part of
the building. Quaint little recesses indicate that the
building is not modern, and the heavily barred windows
of the slaves’ dungeons tell their own tale ; but indeed
the whole atmosphere is charged with scents of the
olden days. Where formerly the Knights of St. John,
in their flowing white robes, tencled their sick folk,
may now be seen, moving among the beds, four pain-
fully modern women doctors in their painfully modern
ward coats! Alas! why ave we so keen for the times
to move on,

“You will, however, want a few words of explanation
on the situation. Well, we had been here three days
when we were summoned into the Governor's presence
(after a preliminary interview with the P.M.O.), and
it was explained to us that the services of the Unit were
very urgently required, as a sudden and unforeseen
strain was going to be put on the medical organization
of Malta.

“We liked our Chief from the first moment we set
eyes on him, and we think he should get a D:S.0. for
the splendid way he has organized the Hospital at short
notice, Guess who our patients are? The men who
have been wounded at the Dardanelles—a mixture of
Australians and Britishers, It is lovely to have the
chance of looking after our own men for a bit, and ]
have been thrilled and appalled at the accoun; they
give us of the landing of our troops on the peninsula of
Gallipoli; but I expect it’s wiser not to write about it.
The Au tralians arrived here first and are very interest-
Ing as a character study. though it's early days to sum

them up. When the second batch came, | said to one

te: the
Ss com-
on the
dart of
at the
ndows
indeed
of the
John,

folk,
pain-
odern
times

lation
days
sence
and
were
seen
ation

CESGe
). for
short
who
> of
the
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they
a of
5 ies
‘ESt=
sum
one

VALJEVO £33

man, ‘Are you Australian too?’ The reply was, ‘ No,
just plain British.’

‘15th. We are all saddened because of a death
we had to-day. He was an Australian, and a more
friendly, plucky young fellow I have never seen. He had
repeated hamorrhage from a wound in his arm, which
had finally to be amputated yesterday. He was came
to the last, and all the convalescents stood to attention
when an hour or two later he was carried from the ward
covered with the Union Jack. It doesn't sound much,
but I'll never forget it. Nor shall [ forget another man,
whom I also found in the early hours, pulseless but
conscious. Literally with his dying breath he reassured
me: ‘Honestly, you know, Doctor, [I'm pertectly fit.’
One glories in such pluck, and yet one loathes war
more and more every day, because it makes you see
everything through blood and tears. 1 won't write
more to-day. We sail for Serbia on Saturd ly next, and
it will cost us a big pang to say good-bye to our British
Tommies. I'm so glad, ever so vlad, to have had this
little chance of serving them and mothering them, and
i's a great joy to us that they should so quickly be
enthusiastic about their women doctors.

“The Australians and New Zealanders we found
delightfully frank and easy to get on with. They were
always ready to jeer at the sentimental effusion of the
Malta Chronicle over ‘our wounded heroes.’ When
an Australian was asked one day where he had manayed
to get a coat he was sporting, the quick reply came:
‘Pinched it from another wounded hero, Doctor!’”

Dr. Hutchison and her Unit remained in Malta
until they were wired for from Serbia, where they were
urgently needed.

“hh: mir it Beret bates ie! tie) ee ¢
That they did LVUGCU WOTrik Til Malta is Showit irom

SPOR a me OS
ee egenensene —~

i . a Ci
ee ad Soe Fae ae

134 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

the letter of appreciation written by the Governor, Lord
Methuen, after the Unit's departure :

“SAN ANTONIO PALACK, MALTA,

“Dear Sir,—As I have written to Sir Ralph Pavet,
itis not in my power to «xpress my evratitude sufficiently
for the help given me by the Serbian Unit. There
came the first avalanche of wounded, and neo further aid
from home was due for a fortni¢ht, so, sooner than see
my men neglected in order to nurse Serbians, | took it
on myself to detain the Unit for one for'night, They
leave here blessed by myself, surecons, nurses, and
patients alike, for they have proved themselves most
capable and untiring workers, They never made the
smalest difficulty, and would not have been sorry had I
ordered them to remain another week.—Yours truly,

“23/5/15. (Sed.) Mertuvin, G.M.”

“VALIEVO, 5¢h Sitneé 115.
What an eventful day! This is the day on which
our first tent has been pitched. I am now Sitting in it,
so as to be at hand and supcrintend everything, Our
camp is on the slope of the hil] Just above the Hospital
where we are at present living. It has a vlorious out-
look towards the immense semicircle of hills in the
shelter of which Valjevo lies. In the heat haze of mid-
day T can only ouess the outline of the distant hich hills,
but in sunset lizhts they stand out so proudly in their
screne blue, a joy to the eye and food for the soul. |
shall describe the camp to you when it is all pitched and
ready for work. [am longing to see the lines of white
tents, and the flags Waving, and patients tucked Into nic
clean beds with pretty red coverlets. A. 7 a.m. this
morning five of us were here to watch the first tent v0
upeunder the skilful manipulation of our ‘handy men.’

1 t¢

' Dr. Hutchison’s letters continned,

Lord

LTA.
avet,
iently
[here
r aid
n see
ok it
They
and
most
the
ad |

5.
hich
n it,
Our
dital
out-
the
nic -
ills,
heir
]
and

LEE

'
¥
=

VALJEVO 135

We had no bottle of champagne and no speech to mark
the portentous moment. We only stood around in
apparent curiosity, butit seemed to me there was a touch
of awe and reverence in the atmosphere as, with a flap
of her wings, our first tent rose to her full height—an
emblem of hope and wonder. As a white-sailed ship
sets forth eagerly for strange ports, so it seemed to me
our first solitary tent symbolised the position of our
Unit. Into what unknown regions was it voing, for
how long, and to wha end?) Time only could answer
these questions, so we turned our attention to the
business in hand.

“I somehow feel that our adventure is going to work
out happily, and I shall write soon to tell you all about

the camp.”
c .
“© VALJEVO, 15¢h June 1915.

“6

.. We are now hurrying forward our camp, and
Campfield and McAllan are working their hardest with a
lot of Austrian prisoners. The position as regards work
is as follows: Typhus is getting steadily less, and all
the cases are being dealt with in one hospital (the one
in which we are staying as guests). It is almost certain
that we shall not have typhus to deal with at present, but
get medical cases first, and surgical work whenever the
advance takes place. I find we have really been sent
here to be ready for the Serbian advance, which is ex-
pected to take place at any time. It is fully expected
that there will be a recrudescence of typhus in winter, so
if we are still here then we shi..] have to deal with it... .

‘‘ Miss Jack isa splendid administrator, and I do think
the Unit should r n with the minimum of friction. We
have started a camp journal and a bugle, and [ intend to
organize fortnightly entertainments whenever the work
allows of it. It’s a great thing to keep people happy,

i ”

iE Wes etsy casio SOP srt ian ns i Des
ixe tne nile tG bE a SUCCESS,

=
val
2.
—
un
sea
He
oo]
Cc
jeer)
as
om
oe

ee ee me

= ne

Se a a ee ad ee

aes Sree

. F “
st ae

Sian naa

136 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

“VALJEVO, July 1915.

- . » Our wards look very well indeed, and are
fortunately the coolest of all the tents, as they are so
large and we can take the sides entirely away and allow
whatever breeze there js to blow through. The smaller
tents get unpleasantly hot during the daytime, but we
have fortunately got some ladnaks, where we repair
when not otherwise occupied. Laduaks are of Various
sizes, but they are all built on the same principle. A
supply of wood in the shape of young trees and cut
branches is brought in, and the trunks are stuck into
deeply cut holes in the ground to form any size or shape
of shelter. Other trunks are then placed from post to
post lengthways and crossways and firmly nailed to form
a roof, and on the roof are piled the cut branches, The
result is a delightfully cool retreat on hot days, in any
part where trees are lacking. I must give you a little
description of our camp. Valjevo itself nestles in a long
dip between two hills, while we are on the lower slopes
of one of them, Leaving the town of Valjevo, one
follows a broad road which slants upwards to a plateau,
on which stands the 3rd_ Reserve Llospital, which gave
us food and shelter for close on three weeks, The
plateau in its turn soon slopes upward, and from the
Hospital gate one sees an imposing array of tents up the
hillside and flags fluttering from two tall poles in
the foreground. A sencrous extent of vround has been
ringed in with barbed wire, and Visitors are challenged at
the entrance gate by the sentry before being allowed to
proceed up the newly made road to the encampment,
The road ends at the C.M.O.'s office tent, from which
stretch, on the right hand side, the remainder of the office
and other working tents; on the left stands the big mess
tent, with a larve Zadnak in front of it: and farther up the
hill the cook-house. storeroom, and sleeping quarters,

15.
are
e So
I W
uler
we
pair
ious
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rm
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My
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in

A...

STOR ESE me

VALJEVO 137

Beyond this collection of tents comes a clear space, then
down the farther slope are the six big ward marquees,
and still farther down the slope, wash-house, patients’
kitchen, receiving and bath tents, and the arrangements
for the destruction of refuse.

“At the back of our tents is a fairly large orchard,
which has been rented for us, and where members repair
frecly in off-duty time, for the heat is really very intense.

“T shall be able to tell you more about the work
and the patients in my next letter. So far my colleagues
have done the medical work, and I have only come in
touch with a few serious cases apart from my usual round
of inspection. My day is spent in flying about from
one side of the camp to the other, with an occasional
walk down to the 3rd Reserve Hospital to enlist the
help of the Director, who has been told off to assist me
in every possible way.

“One morning before 7 a.m., when the whole camp
was astir with the energy of a bechive after having
enjoyed its first night under canvas and was anticipating
the pleasure of its first camp breakfast, an enormous
bird (a French biplane) came into sight and began to

wheel and curve above our heads, then finally settled on
the plateau below us. The C.M.O. tried to continue
a business conversation with the carpenter, till the car-
penter began to move downhill, and finally with a most
expressive, ‘Oh, Gospodgitza!' (‘Oh, Madam!’), broke
into a run, followed by the C.M.O., the cook with a
kitchen ladle in her hand, the sanitary inspector with her
broom, and all the other members of the Unit. John
Gilpin’s flight was mild compared to ours. . . .

“Nothing gives me so strongly a sense of topsy-
turvydom in the universe as the presence of Austrian
orderlies in our camp both for hospital and house
service. ‘Lo become familiar with the blue uniform

ay
e+)
i]
t
\
)
\
}

wee

38) SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

under such novel circumstances gives me a feeling of
the creeps sometimes. To have it in one’s tent, scrub-
bing the floor, filling and emptying one's bath, and
doing many kindly offices, to sce it in the wards giving
kindly care and attention to its own enemy—these are
sights which I never quite get used to. It keeps me
in constant remembrance of our own men in a similiar
capacity ; one wonders whether perhaps they too may
not have just such offices to perform, and so one does
all one can to make life as pleasant as one can for them.
One of the prettiest touches in our camp life is the
friendship which has sprung up between McAllan, our
handy man, and one of the prisoners, a young Hungarian
boy called Michael. Michael calls Me.Allan * Vater,’ and
though he speaks an (to me at least) incomprehensible
muddle of German, and MeAllan speaks broad Scotch,
they have no difficulty in understanding one another.
One often sees them sitting side by side on a packing-
case after working hours having a heart-to-heart. talk.
One night, as they were separating, McAllan was over-
heard to say, ‘Well, a’ve enjoyed your crack fine,
Michael, but a just wisht a’d kent what ye was talkin’
aboot.’ Delicious, isn't it?

* Mc Allan is really a treat, and has become absolutely
indispensable to me. His favourite axiom is that broad
Scotch is the best means of making oneself understood
in Serbia! . . .”

“ August 1915.

‘As I went to-day to pay my morning visit to the
invalids in the orchard, different companies of soldiers
dashed into the orchard from various points and then
dropped on one knee with raised rifles, prepared to fire
at an unseen foe. “Then one realised sharply once again
that, in spite of all the joy of autumnal days, the fight

? a FN | ]
one had just seen in our pcaceiti orcenara Was being

VALJEVO 130)

played in earnest over almost the whole of the civilised
world. . . . There is no longer the silence and restraint
of the early days. A lively chatter is ample testimony
that the men no longer feel themselves to be in foreign
surroundings, but are very much at home with the
various Ses/rae, and looking forward to being soon kod
huche. Those two words mean ‘at home,’ and are
interwoven with the days of work in Serbia, One day
a patient was clamouring loudly to be allowed to go
hod kuche. when | heard a voice murmur at my: side,
‘Kod huche. Vooking round, I found the speaker was
an Austrian orderly who was evidently (from th~ jook
in his eyes) seeing beyond patients and hospital wards
to his own little home in a quiet Austrian valley.
Perhaps others 4 patients and Austrian orderlies
sometimes mur .r, | A’ed kuche,’ and see invisible things.
“When niznt falls the red-swathed lamps glow in the
darkness, throwing a strange glamour over the sleeping
patients and the watching fivures of Sisters and orderlies.
Then one sees the invisible, as one recalls the long
ward with its crimson-shaded electric lights at Valetta
Hospital, and one’s thoughts stretch out to feel the
touch of the international. Surely it is hardly possible
for Britisher and Serb to arrive at a mutual kindly
understanding with laugh and gesture and isolated words
(appropriate or inappropriate), and then part to be as
if they had never met. One likes rather to think that
when we leave the hillside once again silent, with brown,
crassless areas alone speaking of its former more bustling
existence, that we shall have left more lasting imprints
in the shape of a wider international understanding
sympathy.
“The enteric tents have been to me the most
interesting. It has been a great joy to see many serious

he bl

Cas€s come round the corner, don the biue convalescent

shag

AR ge soem ae

7
43
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—- = -

140 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

suits, and then join the happy throng going kod kuche,
The blue convalescent suits are greatly coveted by the
patients, and each man bequeaths his to a pal before he
leaves. The suits are, in fact, booked a week or two
in advance. One gets some quaint votes of thanks, and
one man wrote a poem to Dr. Phillips, the refrain being
in the style of + Mother, my Mother,’ ”
“September 101 5.

“The camp has been inspected by several people,
among them the Head of the Serbian Sanitary Depart-
ment and the Head of all the French Missions in Serbia.
The most recent visitors were Sir Ralph and Lady Pavet,
who expressed themselves as more than satisfied with
everything. During their stay I had the interesting
experience of dining with them first ata Medical dinner
and then at an Army dinner, The Army dinner was
quite a big thing—very prettily arranged in a large hall.
I had there the honour of conversing with the bi»
Serbian Field-Marshal whose name will be handed to
posterity as the saviour of Serbia from the Austrians.
He asked whether he might do himself the honour of
Visiting the camp, to which I of course replied that the
honour would be mine !”

CHAPTER IV

THE GREAT RETREAT

HE ‘“long-drawn-out fight with typhus” had ended

in April—“the peaceful summer” was drawing

to a close—when in November the storm of the German-
Austrian invasion burst over Serbia. The line of
hospitals in the north at Mladanovatz, Lazarovatz, and
Valjevo was ordered hastily to retreat. Mladanovatz
and Lazarovatz evacuated in an incredibly short time—
packed their equipment and came down to Kraguievatz,
where Dr. Inglis was. From there the Lazarovatz
women with Dr. Inglis’ party had to make a further
evacuation to Krushevatz, this time losing most of their
equipment. Dr. McGregor and her party were taken
from Kraguievatz to Kralievo, from which place they
joined the Great Retreat. Dr. Hutchison’s Unit in the
meantime were first taken to Pojega, and then moved to
Vrinjatcha Banja. On Sir Ralph Paget's recommenda-
tion the women were given the choice of going home if
they desired with the parties who were attempting a
trek across the Albanian Mountains, or staying behind
at their posts. Both Dr. Inelis and Dr. Hutchison
decided to stay, and with them a number of their
Staff. These were all taken prisoners by the enemy
in the month of November. The rest, who desired
to go home, were formed into two parties under Mr.
Smith and Dr. McGregor, and successfully accomplished

ay tere San Sr aeseee
the Great INCtFEeat.

141

mee

Oe on pe tg

rea ae ae

sag age
ia aaa

=_—

142) SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

Lirrek prom Dr. INGLis, BROUGHT BY Mr. Suiru

“KRUSHEVATZ, $44 Vovember Hgts

Just incase Mr. Smith vets home, this is a
little: a to the Committee to explain where we are, and
what is hap pening.

"We are in the ve ry centre of the storm, and it is any-
thing but pleasant to. be part of a beaten and retreatin o
army. Al our Hospitals planned as part of ac ampaign
on the Danube, have had to be ‘ey: icuated.” The first
to be moved was Dr. MeGre ‘vor's, immediate ‘ly after the
fall of Belorade, This was inevitab le, lying as Mladano
vatz dees on the line from there. She and Miss Pares
performed really a feat—-packed in two d: ays and vot the
whole ot their equipment down, They were stationed
at Kraguievatz, in’ the Artillery Barracks, to open a
hospital for sli: ghtly wounded and a huge dressing-station,
ey a oreanis ed it maxnitice ntly, and had 600 beds
running, and T think 5000 cases a week through their
hands in the fortnight they were working. Then
Kraguievatz had to be evacuated. The next to be
moved was Dr, Hutchison’s, They had more warning,
but also got all their goods off. They were sent. to
Pojega. But within a “week it had to be evacuated,
the Austrians pouring over the western frontier. That
Was a surprise (for good soldiers thought that, at any
rate, this Western) Morava valley could be held
especially the western end, with its hills). Dr. Hutchison
is now at Vrinjatcha Bania, farther e ast, alone the same
line, where she has a small hospital and ; t dressing
station. The Hopes are with her,

“OF all our three Hospitals in the north, Lazarovatz
was the last to be moved—rather puzzling, as it was
between the other two: but they expected to be able
to hold that bit of ground, ev: acuatine Valjevo without

Taal

Sslesiiaiaith

THE GREAT RETREAT 143

fighting, to shorten the e normously lone line they have to
defend. In the end, Lazarovatz had also to vo, the
people leaving in an awful hurry and in awful discomfort.
Some day we'll tell you all about it. They were sent
here to Krushevatz, have got two big store-houses, and
have done good work for the last week, with innumerable
shi At Kraguievatz, our Hospital filled to the
doors, 175 beds instead of the 125 we ought to have. and
we tole over two ‘vast houses’ for convalescents—60
pitients more. The Sisters worked splendidly, and

Davidson and Dr. MeDouval are a capital pair of
assistants, (Dr. Chesney was off with the Field
Ambulance.) We had 75 new cases to start off with,
and trom 30 to go a day after that, cle: ring out as
quickly as we could—dressings all the Morning, opera-
tions all the afternoon, and the patients X- rayed on their
way to the operating-room. — It was heart-bre ‘aking work
leaving the Hospital. We cleared the * gast houses,’ and
sent off every man who could walk, but even so there were
left 20 bad cases, with six ivnorant orderlies to look after
them, and three doctors for all the hospitals together,

“We left in two parties, and | went back the last
thing to give the men some clvarettes. — Alre: ady che
Whole place was in chaos, windows shut, and one man
with a long splint, with his splint off, sitting up winding
up his bindages. One man with se ondary hie ‘morrhage
nearly ied, ees as everything was packed, I had to
have him removed to. the Military Hospital with a
tourniqtet on,

All this will make you understand how I came to
the conclusion that if we are really to help the Serbs
now, we must stick to our posts. Sir Ralph did not at
first agree, and especially felt: that we ought to move in
order to save our expensive equipment. But when he
came to think of it, he realised that in. this headlong

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144 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

retreat we cannot save it. We each got our equipment
off in the first instance—complete—but it is absolutely
impossible to move it now. — Sir Ralph, himself, has lost
the whole of his, in Nish. Further, the constant feeling
that the Foreign Hospitals must be saved was only an
added worry to the Serbs. Instead of helping, we were
adding to the difficulties, and if the Committee could
have seen Col. Gentitch’s face when I said to him that
we were not going to move again, but that they could
count on us just where we stood, I think they would
have been touched.

“Sir Ralph decided that everybody who wanted
should go down to Novi-bazar and over into * Tonteneero,
if possible, A party of twenty left here to-day—five of
Dr. Hutchison's, nine of Dr. Hollway’s, four Field
Ambulance, and two of mine—Mr, Smith goes with them,
My matron has since decided to go too!

“Dr. McGregor has trekked with her whole party
from Kralievo (where she was sent from Kraguievatz to
fora another dressing-station), and [ think intends to
form a hospital at Novi-bazar. But we have missed
one another every time, and I only know what Miss
Pares told me. Gettin no answers to our telegrams,
and hearing nothing, and with there being no trains, |
went up to-day to Kralievo in the Welsh Ambulance
(which is now the Field) Ambulance really), to. the
undisvuised distress of the officers at Headquarters !
Campticld drove, and we did not see the shadow of a
German. Col. Antitch is left there with 700 wounded
—three assistants and no nurses. The dressing-station
moved two days ago to Rashka—he understood for Novi-
bazar, to form a hospital. They have not a scrap of
equipment, and cannot set it. Still, the place may be a
perfectly good one, and it may be possible to give valu-
able help in a Serbian hospital.

CN ELE Cary

ipment
olutely
as lost
feeling
nly an
e were
could
n that
- could
would
HOspiran At KRALIEVO.

vanted
necro,
five of
Field

them.

party
atz to
ids to
iissed

Miss
rams,

: 5.W.H. PARTY WAITING THE LAST TRAIN FROM KRAGUIEVAT:
inks

lance
» the
rters !
Ob a
inded
ation
NV OVI-
ip of
bea

valu-

i RESTING DURING THE RETREAT. [To face p. 144.

|
|

5 Uli preendh Gietans cera ee

RRO raeseones SSeS Sea SAP See terme nein er eeetneemanene ager tapes creep

a *
= Sa a

cee eee

2S sme

a ee

SAT a ak gE aetna mene ute. eens =

aa a ee OP a oer ere ge.

THE GREAT KETREAT 145

‘My ‘line’ has lengthened. Some day we'll have
lots to tell you. Just now one can think of nothing but
these pvor little people in this awful hole—with the
country they have fought so hard for overrun from end
toend. They can hardly speak to one without breaking
down—even strong men among them. ‘hey look at
one so eagerly, and say, ‘When will your men be up ?’
When? The road to Kralievo to-day was crowded with
refugees in their shaky bullock-carts full of all their
household things. And there were groups of stragglers
from the army. As we came back these men were being
gathered up by officers. The whole of Serbia has been
thrown back on this Western Morava valley, and now
there is nothing left but a further retreat south, and then
—surrender? They have lost their heads. There is no
denyingit. They admit it themselves. And no wonder.
It is as bad as Belgium.

“T have forgotten to tell you that we have a Hospital
here in the gymnasium—z2o0 beds—very nice building,
and all our equipment. And we have had charge of an
English sailor—Danials—ever since the bombardment
of Belgrade, where he was wounded. He is going with
Mr. Smith to-morrow.”

It is with a feeling of sadness we read of the
breaking up of the beautiful camps at Valjevo and
Mladanovatz, and the evacuation of the Hospital at
Lazarovatz—the Hospitals into which so much thought
and labour and enthusiasm had been put; but we
know they had done good work, and were prepared
for any amount more. The members of the Jnits who
trekked through the mountains gave proof of the en-
during powers of women, and those who stayed behind
and faced the storm and lived through it were, as Dr.
Inglis expressed it, “the fortunate ones,” for to them

146 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Was viven the privilege of sti nding by the Serbian men
in their hour of crucifixion Serer es whom it Was
said by an American Red Cross doctor to the war
correspondent of the Daly MWail (23rd Febru: iry 1915):
* My word, Clarke, but I tell you these men are creat.
I feel so small beside them that 1 could hide invself,
, Pain! Suffering! You've not secn a iwery until you've
seen these men suffer. I'd take of ah ind, an arm, or a
leg—without anesthetics, mind yi and will the fellow
budge ?——no, not an eyelid. pee Ht you hear them say
‘Aukn lebe’ (Oh dear!) that’s as much as you hear, and
not often that much. And dig! They'll die without a
sound—unless it is to thank you, if they can, before they
vo. Where this race of soldiers sprane from | don't
pretend to know, but TI tell you richt now the yy are God's
own men.’

Mr. Smith tells the story of the Retreat as it fected
some of the S.W.H. women :

‘For some time rumour had been busy aboutanother
invasion, this time by a combined German-Austrian
Army, which was known to be massing on the Danul
Ferdinand of Bulgaria, after playing with the .\Iljes till

expected from Britain and France, also fri m Greece.
(rreece and Serbia were bound by treaty, arranged atter

1 he was ready, at last, to show his bin I, declared war on
4! Serbia immediately after the attack of the Austrian-
he German Army opened on the Danule, Serbia inight

ft have held out for a time in the north. but, to meet the
¥ new enemy on the Bulgarian frontier, her army, som
| thing like 250,000, had to be divided, cach section having
is to face a tresh army of 300,000 strong, = Help had been
'

the second Balkan War, to help each other in case ol
invasion by Bulgaria. We all know bow Greece key
her promise. So, when her hour of bitter trial came.
serbia stood alone. News reached us in INraguievatz

EERE EOE AF ro th Feat og
ee

iy. TVET
t was
& War
Ors
creat,
self.
TOU Y Cc
» OF 2
elow
1 say
aud
Out a

they
don't

= ae
FUG S

THE GREAT RETREAT

147
in October that Belgrade had fallen, anc

I that the Serbian
Army was being hard pressed. \Ve

were Wwarnecl no)

have all our stores in readiness, as it might be

t
=

to evacuate the town ina week or ten Clay : ut w 1
twenty-four hours of this warning we vot orders to |e ive
KNracuievatz at once, for a town farther south Thi

situation was now desperate, aad the Serbian Arn

everywhere in retreat, During all our Stay Nravuievac:
had been the seat of the Serbian Army Staff, which was
now preparing to leave for saler quarters. With the

departure of the army chiefs, despair seemed
upon the poor people, and there was a wild scramble to
escape from the doomed City. ‘Confusins and disorder
reigned everywhere. At no time does the Slav shine
an organizer, but in the time Of trouble his talent for
disoreanization becomes absolute genius. “The
of the guns had been an everyday experienc:
they were getting nearer, and the railway was
and no time was to be lost if we were to et clear. We
s0f away with our stores by the last train Which left the
city, passing through the junction only an hour before
it was shelled. We had been ordered to Nrushevatz,
which had been considered safe, but on ary
that it was safe no longer,

tO Seize

ound
- lor us, but

threatened,

al we found
After consultation with the
Army Authorities it was decided that al] Forei
that wished to get away should make {
Montenegro and Al

2n Missions
for the Adriatic by
bania, or south by Monastir to
Salonika. The steat ditficulty was to
The trains had stopped running, so bull
our only hope. We were Promised eight, \W, loaded
Up six of our Wagons, and most of our
that afternoon, My own detachment was to follow the
Next morning with the remaining two Wagons, VI
delays the next morning |

close and

Let transport,
ock-wacvons were

part Vv SOL wa sg

The ENEMY Was now euite

» and shells were jailing Near the town, vhich

148 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

aeneenaiaciees
nemetiesem ;

also being bombed from the air, and the enemy was
reported to be but a few miles off. We finally got away
from the Hospital about noon, joined the main road, and
became part of what was to be known as the Great
Retreat. The road was a moving mass of transport of
ali kinds—motor-wagons, bullock-wagons, horse-wavons,
men, and guns, besides the civilian population, men,
women, and children, all intent on escape. The country
here is undulating, and the procession, as it dipped into
a hollow and reappeared on the crest, to dip and reappear
again and again, until it was finally lost as it passed over
the distant hills, looked like a great dragon wandering
over the countryside. This procession had been passin
continuously for days, stretching from one end of Serbia
to the other, and one realised that this was something
more than an army in retreat: it was the passing of a
whole nation into exile, a peopie leaving a lost country.”

It has been said that in all history there is no parallel
to this exodus, unless it may be the flight of the Israelites
out of the land of Egypt; but in their case the exodus
led to freedom—in this, it was a nation going into
exile. “We kept going during the daylight, but
towards sunset the wagons commenced to draw into the
fields by the roadside for a few hours’ rest. About ten
o'clock we took the road again, and as I was anxious
to overtake the party which had left the day before, I
decided to keep going all night. Rain fell about mid-
night, and in an hour or two the roads were as only
Serbian roads can be. The going became ehastly, the
wagons were frequently up to their axles in mud, and
breaking down everywhere and causing endless delays.
The night was as black as the pit, and the rain vot
worse, but there was nothing for it but to keep plungit

“bs once saa aisy

hae A a cn mene ggy baz

ees behenttec: vee eceen nee
tee adi na ed kale

Spee wr meee pening

pete

ay
ae
\,
i
i
te
1
4
5
’

"
t
'
f
4
*
b
j

Sie ee er anger ee

atodetde die ae ee

on, sometimes up to the knees in mud and water. !
vel upeereang Fell

the dark the read was diffienlt to follow. ay

y was
away
l, and
Great
ort of
iwOns,
men,
untry
d into
ppear
lover
lerine
issIne
serbia
‘thing
of a
ntry.”
irallel
iclites
xodus
into
. but
o the
It ten
xX1OUS
ore, |
mic-
only

Wil!

Khair vy,

wAL

GRE AI

Thi

THE GREAT RETREAT 149

foul of each other, and got jammed. Here and tf ere
some one in aun. urity would come along with a lantern,
and try to clear up the confusion. Officers shouted
orders, drivers swore at their bullocks, and at each other,
rempers gave out, and quarrels were frequent. Weeping
women Were seen staggering along with babies in their
arms, or carrying the pitiful remains of their household
goods. Ey. ry one was soaked to the skin, and sick at
heart, but there was nothing for it but to stumble on,
praying for the dawn. Dawn came at. last, and with
it the promise of a better day, and an hour or two after-
wards we came upon our party, which had started twenty-
four hours ahead of us, and who were preparing breakfast.
A good meal, and our troubles of the night before assumed
their proper perspective. The sun was shining when we
took the road again, and there seemed something in
living after all. We kept going all day, and about civht
in the evening pitched our camp in the outskirts of a
village, glad to lie down after a march—bar three hours’
rest of the night before—of thirty-six hours,

“We took seven days to reach Prishtina. sleeping
mostly in the open, if the weather was not too bad.
One wet night we got shelter in the house of a mountain
gendarme—a_bleal: °utpost on a hilltop, which might at
a pinch have held a dozen with comfort, but over thirty
Weary souls thought themselves lucky to get inside. Aj
Prishtina we hoped to get instructions about the route
we were to take, but nothing definite could be fixed.
Rumour was busy that day in the town about the
advance of the Allied Army—the French and British
Force—which, as 4 matter of fact, was itself at that
moment in retreat towards Salonika. Next morning
we left for Prisrem, where the Army Headquarters Staff
had gone, and where definite orders about our route

ot 134

ould be issued. That day’s march led us over the

150 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

1 fatal Plain of Kossove, where centuries ago the old

bs under the ereat Czar Lazar, the hero of a hundred

ballads, made their last stand and fell before the onrush

) of the Turk. Serbia was now staggering under the

heaviest: blow since this creat battle tive hundred years
' beter \t Prisrem we found many members of different

med ssions, Freneh, Russian, and British, who, like

ourselves, were finding a way to the coast. The route

wd \sbania and Monastir to Salonika was pronounced
impossible, as the one available road Was now in the
han tothe Butoars, so our only way lay over. the
Now-clad mountains of Montenegro and the Albanian
VI The Serbian Hea quarters Staff was here, and
many of the Foreign Diplomats, amongst them the

1 Minister, cll trying to get clear. So this route

wes our only hope, and we set about vetting what
Misions We could. By this time food was unpleasantly
scarce, and f inine prices were the rule. I verybody
vas searchi tor food, and one day [| met two British
olnecers whom knew—one an Admiral, carrying a bie
in of biscuits, and a Colonel with a tin of bully beet
under cither arm. Both hailed me cheerf Hy and cis

tyed their eood nek.
Everything was now ready, so we set out for Ipek,
we were to leave our bullock-waeons, buy ponies,

} A
+?
4")
'

'
’
”
+
4
‘

i :

v the mountains of Montenegro and Albania to
' ee ee ps a i ” ef

t \drhitic. the day begin badly for us. From the
5 tart we were in difficulties with our oxen, and we
i found out later that the poor beasts had vot little or

<a tree ecaneenes
Sn aire ar a

nothing to cat at Prisrem, and were now starving, The
rest. of the procession was soon far ahead of us. I
nmanaced to buy some hav at a roadside farm, but our
beasts were too weak to go far, and in the end we had
to give them to an Albanian at a wayside farmhouse.

iC “eer 1

—

rest of OUr porty,

to he

Whole night long, and hills were all
wets a tired and

be {Sts

nN! it we

find rather cold, but all the rest of the ppc! 1

It Wats

Ipek, and obtain

Dy Oty

Pup their weaker brethren,

)

! .
ad nere fe

partly for our own, and set out ac

}

Gvitt iVes

great diticulty now

ment had
transport

beasts as

Ipek had

ae
ae

rare harvest,

to wet }
Ponies we
any ki
Snow
and | oked

SNowst¢ rm

were loaded yp

be cn

purposes,

Any price

)

:
Cen avi

set about

likely to

of th - Vear
Of crossino the

Hl nicht. After
mid to unhitch the oxen and

and the windows had, as yet, no
them, Loward

THE GREAT RETREAT

so there WAS no hope for at but

This went on
too frequent, aUrnc

Ww at day, partly for the sake
world, was full

sts we got tea on arrival.
1 the priest told us we mj

whic

were ina newly vuilt part

1¢
!
I

The refugees were glad to ve

day

yettiny provisions, for no food ot

ina could be boueht while crossing the mountains.

Was falling when we

mountans before it came, The yoni,

FUGUCS

t
and we vot away from Ipek about ten.

]

(m)

/and the Albanian horse-dealers o!
iy the time of their lives and reapt,
It took me the better part of three
t the number we required, After buying fiftecn

one wavon was drawn un

vo back with therm

t ’
lil
!

orry-looking party which crawled in
town, the name of which I cannot remember.
| he
in NeXt morn-
Inv, hoping to eet to Ipek the followi; e dav. That
i rested in the Monastery of Dechani,
ty, one of the bigeest in the
, Inaking, like

Thi

ourselves, for Ipek. Throuch the
Of one of the prie

phyed

was ft!)
savavely cold, and we shut the wi ,y s, to
hext Morning that we
the Monastery,

tine
glass in
s the end of the thirtieth dav we reac!
ed quarters ina Military Barracks, 1]
was to get horses, as the Govern.
commandcering all available beasts for

'
nf

;
.
\
i

}

i
j

i a et

152) SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

We knew we were in for a long day's march, as no
camping was possible, except at one place far ahead.
“We had now tackled the most trying part of our
march, and should the snow continue, it would) mean
disaster and death to thousands. As we went on, the
track became narrower, with just enough room for the
pony with pack to pass alone, The snow continued for
hours. The goine was fairly good at first, but later on
in the day, as it Trew colder, our difficulties increased,
There were thousands of refugees and ponies ahead of
us, and with all this traffie the paths became hard and
icy. The track was at one time at the bottom of the
pass, alongside the rushing river, then there would bea
sharp rise, and it would wind its way in and out to the top
of the pass, with the rushing river now far below. By
this time the voine was more than difficult, and the
greatest care Was necessary, especially downhill. One
horse fell over, and fi wally rolled into the river, luckily at
a place not far above the stream, and after some trouble
it was vor out, lookin little the worse. Others were not
so fortunate, and the day's march cost the life of many
a poor beast, which fell into a place where it was im-
possible to lend help. Sometimes a merciful bulle: would
put an end to its sutfering, but as often as not it was left
to die where it fell. Progress was slow. At awkward
corners the ponies bad to be slowly led one by one, and
this meant await of an hour or more in the bitter cold till
one's turn came, often ata place where it was impossible
to go forward or turn back. Night came down when we
were far from our camping-eround, and a great part of
this trying march was 'one in the dark. Ticklish work
leading a pony on a dark night down a narrow icy path,
with a high cliff on one side, and nothing but a dark
abyss on the other, with a rushing river far below: but the
mountain pony 1S Very surefi oted, and it is hetter to leaye

as no
id.
of our
mean
n, the
or the
ed for
ter on
‘eased,
ead of
dsand
of the
l bea
he top
By
id the
One
kily at
rouble
re not
many
is im-
would
as left
kward
e, and
old till
ssible
en we
art of
1 work
path,
. dark

ut the
leave

Vii

GREANI

THE GREAT RETREAT 153

him to take his own way. During this part of the Retreat
the plight of the Austrian prisoners, captured in the
battle of a year ago, was terrible. They were shepherded
in great bands before the retreating Serbian Army.

“At last we reached our camping-ground. A few of
our party had already arrived, though the majority were
still strugeling through the Pass, but to our great relief
all arrived safely, and we set about preparing supper.
Trees had been felled and fires were burning every-
where, and the scene amidst the snow was unforvettable.
A party of peasants invited us to their roaring fire, and
we shared what supper we had with them. The only
house near was full of refugees, and there was nothing
for it but to sleep in the open in the snow. We sat
round the camp-fire, and though roasted in front, and
frozen behind, we managed to get a few hours’ sleep,
We took the road at dawn. It was snowing hard, and
perishingly cold, and we started with considerable mis-
givings. We were now far into the Pass, and there
could be no turning back, and a big snowstorm during
the march through the Pass would in all probability have
meant the death of thousands, but luckily the snow only
lasted for an hour or two. During this part of the
Retreat we were often helped by the Albanian peasants,
who had posted themselves where they knew their help
would be needed with the horses. One would take the
pony’s head, and the other the tail, and all three would
then slide and _ slither down the icy descent in the
cleverest fashion,

By this time our lood-supply was running out, and

we were passing through a country where food, even in
times of peace, is never plentiful, During this part of
the march I fear we often forgot Serbia, and the travedy
and death that was going on around us, Our only

thouchts were of food, and our talk was of food, and to

PSPMEECE SE STs sade oe

eee a tae eee

Sea aor yar

54 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

recall any delicacy would h: ¢ our hearts to our mouths,
Phe march through this Pass occupied four days in all,
and was by far the most trying part of the journey. On
tne evening of the fourth day we reached more open

untry. We were now nearing .Andrievitva, and the
hvhts of the town were the most chi ering sight we had
scen for many a day. At Andrievitza we ovotained
quarters at one of the inns, and here we decided to
remain for a day to rest, and try to buy provisions,
Nothing could be had in the inn, and the s} ops were
mostly closed because there was nothing to sell, but
atter a lone search | managed to buy a sheep, and we
Were supplted with black bread by the authorities, |
borrowed a huve pot from the inn-keener, and, alone
with a brother Scot and a Russian medical student,
spent the day cooking, [have heard it said that cooks
rarely enjoy the meals they prepare —nothine could be
hat sheep was
the finest ever made in the Balkan Peninsula.

more absurd—the soup we made from ¢

“We expected mMoOtor-wagois to take us to Podeoritza,

but tloods and broken bridves made this impossible,

We were feelin: fitter after a day's rest, and once mi

1
set out at dawn the following morni: gy. A thaw had

et in, and the roads were many inches deep in slush

I
and snow, ,\ steep ascent lav before us. and meht
hed fallen before we reached the sumnut, ever 700
feet above the sea-level. the highest point on our. tre

“rom here the road descended sharply, and the ponte
(they seemed to know. the Worst Was over) assumed
quite a rattling pace. We had sent our interpreter on
ahead, and to our delight a voice from the darkness

hailed us with news of quarters at a Montenegrin inn
about a mile beyond. It was not mach of an inn, even
as inns vo in that poor country, and to our wavy. of

thinking it was tull before we arrived, We ecoked our

iths.
yall,
On
pen
the
Pyrat
Ne d
i “tO

yet ene igs
Just atter leaving Rashka that the accident

THE GREAT RETREAT

135

supper at a fire in the middle of one of the three rooms.
curled up on the floor, and soon fell asleep,

“ This was the climax of our trek ; by another day we
were in a different climate, and had left the snow behind.
We had still to reach Podgoritza and Scutari. The
motor-wagons which had been promised us were not
forthcoming, so twice again we had to foot it before we
saw the Adriaticand San Giovanni di Me

dua. Provision
ships were expected to be
| I

waiting there, but when we
arrived, the rumour we had heard on the way about
Austrian submarines having snelled the port and ship-
ping proved only too true. The wrecks were
the shore with the provisions still aboard,
at San Giovanni were salving

lying off
The people
what they could, and we
son bread made from flour reclaimed
After camping for three days on the
an Italian ship. arrived unexpectedly, and the
captun arranved to carry the refugees to Italy.
Austrian submarines which had st

lived for several days
from the sea.

shore.

The
ink the provision ships
were said to be lying in wait outside, but towards mid-
nievht the captain decided to risk it, and accompanied
by two destroyers we slipped into the nieht, The next
morning we arrived at Brindisi, and our troubles were
atanend. We had been part of the (

meat Retreat for
nearly seven weeks.

Every one in my party won
tarovch, and all did well, especially the women, who

throushout showed splendid courage and endurance,”

other party of women under Dr. MecGrevor,
utcr their retreat from Mladanovatz to Kracuicevatz,
were sent to Kraljevo, whence

Mitrovitza, there

ew Rashka they went to
re joining the retreating army. It was

occurred in
hone of our finest nurses, Mrs. Touchill, was killed.
Phe car in which she and other nurses were, when

‘
fe

—

ar
CO ge ee me

MO ce re hia ge

2 | a nee a G72

156 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

passing a huge motor- lorry, went too near the crumbling
edge of the road and was c: ipsized over the steep cliff.
Mrs. Toughill met with injuries which resulted in her
death on the following Sunday, 14th November, From
Fortier Jones’ book, II 7/4 Seohia mto Exile, we eet a
description of the valley where Rashka lies, and of the
very road crawling alone the high cliffs where the sad
accident occurred :

‘The valley of the Ibar is one of the wildest and
most beautiful in the world, but in that three days’ march
we came to regard it as monotonous be ‘vond endurance.
Twenty or thirty miles of it out of Rashka surpasses the
far-famed Gorges des Loups. The road that twists
along the tortuous, she Iving cliffs that form it. oanks is
as marvellous as the Route des Alpes and as beautiful
as any Corniche road muse be. Also it is just about as
bad as a road could be and still remain a road. Rashka
lies in a narrow plain at a widened part of the valley.
The road leads out along this plain for a little w: ay, then
follows the rapidly risine banks, first’on their crest, and
later, when they tower to extraordin: iry heights, is cut
from the living rock midway up their sides. With the
rising of the banks the valley narrows to a goree, so
that it is like a great funnel, in the wide ‘spread eh
of which lies Rashka. Converging at this place, the
refuree throngs from most of northern Serbia flowed
through this gigantic funnel,”

Mention is raade of Caroline Toughill, and of all the
women who died ‘ton active service” in conned ‘tion with
the S.W.HL., in another ch; ipter, but the account in Dr.
McGregor’s words of the touching burial-service may
well Onda place here.

“We decided to bury her in a little graveyard on the
top of some low hilis to the left of the road, on which

atiny hamlet of wattle huts was placed. We climhed

line
cliff.

her
rom
et a

;

THE GREAT RETREAT 157

up beyond the village and found on the summit of the
hill a handful of graves cut into the very rock, and
clustering round a little Christian church no more than
20 fect square. Some people in the camp found moss
and berries, and a wreath was made. A cross of wood
was made Ty the Serbian surgeon himself, and at three
ociock in the afternoon two priests of the Greek Church
came to assist in the religious ceremony. All the
officers, soldiers, and prisoners gathered round, and the
priest read prayers and made an oration in Serbian in
her honour, At the end of this he hailed her as she
lay there in the rough soldier's coffin, ‘Salve, Carolina’
and all the soldiers round about cried, ‘Salve, Carolina.’
I then read the first part of the burial-service, and then
the coffin was carried by relays of soldiers up the steep
hill, and there we left her.”

Shortly before the accident, Mrs. Ti ughill had said
to one of the nurses with whom she was travelling, ‘Oh,
to be allowed to rest for ever on such a hill and to be
alone with God.” Dr, McGregor’s party and Mr. Smith's
met later on and arrived together in England towards
the end of December,

It is impossible to think of the Great Retreat without
calling to the memory the 23,000 Serbian boys who
met their fate on that cruel march. To save them from
being captured by the enemy 30,000 vf the boys of
Serbia were ordered out of the country. They made
part of the great exodus of their nation. They were
youn. boys from twelve to eighteen years, and they were
unable to stand the cold, the hunger, and the physical
misery of that march. Fifteen thousand died in the
mountains, “and those who saw the ships and the sea
had nothing human left of them but their eyes,

* The Italians at Avallona had no hospital accommo-

1 ‘

SOR IGE 16,000... . Dhey had the ‘boys encamped

158) SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

in the open country close to a river, and gave them all
the food they could spare—army biscuits and_ bully
beef... . By the time that the ships to convey them
to Corfu arrived the 15,000 had been reduced to QO0O.
About 2000 more boys died during the twenty-four
hours’ journey between Avallona and Vido, and thus
only 7000 reached the encampment in the vrove of
orange ard olive trees by the sea on the island of Vido.”!

In the story of another Unit of the S.\W.LI. working
in the island of Corsica we pick up again the thread of
the lives of some of these 7000 boys, and rejoice that
once again, along with other societies, the Scottish
Women are to be found “ where the need is orcatest.”

‘if the skies were all paper and the sea were all
ink we could not even then write the sorrows of our
country,” says a Serbian writer.

' lth Serbia into Exile.

all
ully
lem
OO.
our
hus
of

tenner pa

CHAPTER V

DR. INGLIS ANZ) DR. HOLLWAY AT
KRUSHEVATZ

\\/F have watched Dr. Soltau and her nurses at

work in the typhus wards. We have followed

Dr. Alice Hutchison’s Unit from the day it left Cardiff.
We have trekked with the women through the blinding
now across the plain of Kossovo, from town to town
we have walked with them, and we have shared with

passes throush the
\lbanian mountains, We have wondered at their

fortitude and all their powers of endurance. One
writer, speaking of the |

hem the horrors of the narrow

‘nglishwomen with whom he
inade the trek, says, “They were the hercines of the
Serbian tragedy, and they realised it not at all.”
women in his particular party did not include any of
the Scottish Women, but that does not preclude our
amin the same praise for them. We have now to
re-enter Serbia and live through those

The

cl
vinter months.
trom November 915 to February 1916, with the women
iett behind in Krushevatz.

“ Krushevatz,” says Fortier Jones, “was the sort
of picture which, having once been seen, chane

ges tor
ever the as ect of life. If I were asked to ove
}

Q
death of Serbia in a few sentences, I shou! tell of
carless woman beside the shreds of her little boy, struck
lown by an acroplane bomb, for “moral effect’: of old
men and young men, old women and

boys and viris, starvine

}
L

Vorncey Woestyrgeey

)

g hopele sly in a frozen wilderness ;
a

j
'

v
'
i
4
*

ai Oe a it cg

100 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

of the Serbian Army groping and staggering into Scutari,
and of the wounded at Krushevatz. One does not get
rid of such pictures. One goes on living with them long
after the events themselves,”

It is here in Krushevatz that we find Dr. Inglis
and Dr. Hollway with their party of women. The story
of their work there is told in Dr. Inglis’ own words, and
we have also been fortunate in being given permission
to publish extracts from a private diary kept by one of
the women in the Unit.

“SCOTTISH WOMEN’s UNIT,
SERBIAN MILITARY HOSPITAL,
KRUSHEVAIZ, 30/4 November 1915.

“Deak Miss Matr,—We are told we may send
letters home—open, of course—so this is to tell the
Committee that Dr. Hollway'’s Unit and mine are here
working in the Serbian Military Hospital. I enclose a
list of the people here, so chat you may tell their friends.
Dr. Hutchison’s Unit is at Vrinjatcha Bania, and Dr.
MeGrevor went southward — possibly you may have
heard from her. Some of our people also left with
Mr. Smith.

“Tam sure the Committee would approve of our
work here. We have charge of the ‘ Mavazine’ where
the overilow patients from the Hospital are taken—about
300 wounded (there are 900 altoxether), We are working
in the dressing-rooms and certain wards in the Hospital
and the Director has put all the sanitation anc laundry
work into our hands. We live in the Hospital. There
are two rooms Given to us.

“On the whole, we have been extraordinarily well.
Matron has hac intlienza-—but it has not spread at all.

“T forgot, in telline of our work. to say we have
also charge of the little infectious diseases hospital under

2 Bl re oar a ty SOON OD
Dr Botha Dr. M—— and two Owsicrs live there.

‘utari,
t vet

long

Inglis
story
, and
ssion
ne of

15.
send
the
here
se a
ends.
Dr.
have
with

our
here
bout
king
pital
adry
here

vell.
BLE

lave
ider

AT KRUSHEVATZ 161

“This is just a bare report for the Committee. |
cannot tell you what our next move will be. At the
present the prisoners are being sent through in thousands.
They stay in the Hospital grounds, and leave their sick
and wounded here, and pass on northward.

“The Committee must not worry about us. We are
well and very busy, and doing the work they sent us
out to do.—Ever, dear Miss Mair, yours affectionately,

“Evste Maup [nGus.”

Before, however, following the fortunes of the women
in Krushevatz, we shall trace with interest the life led
by Dr. Hutchison and her Unit during their time of
imprisonment.

“SCOTTISH WOMEN’s HOSPITAL, VRINJATCHA BANIA,
SERBIA, 20¢4 November 1915.

“Dear Miss Matr,'—I expect you never got a letter
and wire which I sent you from Pojega about a month
ago, reporting everything up to date. I can now, of
course, only write very briefly, as we can only write
open letters. [ asked as a favour from Austrian Head-
quarters that a wire might be sent to London assuring
our people that we are all well, and that there is no
cause for anxiety. We knew every one must be very
anxious, and longed often to be able to write home and
assure you all that we were wonderfully comfortable, in
no danger, and although living very simply compared to
our life at Valjevo, that we have never suffered hunger
as some | know must be doing.

“ After getting orders to icave Valjevo, we were moved
to Pojega, and then, a week later, down the line to this
place. We managed, in spite of a very hurried packing,
to bring everything away from Valjevo except the disin-
fector and our wooden flooring, but during the travelling
about we got separated from some of our belongings,

* Letter trom Dr, Hutchison written after the retreat from Valjevo.
It

‘ij

eet ee

a 2
ee ee ee

oe nara mene he cage

ee tte a a ee ee

162) SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

“T should like to say that we have not the smallest
thing to complain of in our treatment. The difficulty in
getting many commodities we share with others, Owing
to the wish of the Serbian Red Cross to protect the
Units, five are unfortunately together here, with a very
insufficient amount of work. We are now, however, to
be moved down the line, and will have ample work, for
which | am glad. In the meantime there has been no
proposal to send the Units home. Should such a pro-
posal be made, each member will, of course, be left free
to do as she likes, Personally, I should prefer to stay
on, as T cannot help feeling that before the winter is
over there may be vreat need for medical help. You
will understand that I cannot discuss the question
further. For over five weeks we have had no letter
or news of any kind from the outside world. That
is the most trying thing of all to bear. Everybody has
kept in wonderfully good spirits, and it didn’t seem
to occur to any of us to be afraid. We were more
concerned over our inability to battle with Serbian
mud! The Unit, | am glad to say, has kept well.

“The Unit has been loyal, and I have not had
many difficulties in our own circle to contend with, |
feel it is very unsatisfactory writing in this disjointed
way, but [ am most anxious to put in nothing which
would prevent the letter from going through,

“As there is practically nothing private in the letter,
I should be grateful if you could let it be used for my
friends. One could write much of great interest, but
that must be kept back. — It's strange to know nothing
Whatever about anything outside this town,

“ My kindest resards to the Committee and to your-
self.—Yours very sincerely, A. M. Hurtcutson,

te %

, <7 a . we ae | “eds
rou will find out how to communicate with us.

SERBIA

iallest
ity in
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DUF-

AT KRUSHEVATZ 163

The storv of the Valjevo Unit, after the evacuation
of their Hospital and during the time they were
prisoners in the hinds of the Austrians, makes “ood
readiny because of the unfailing courage and resource-
fulness of their ‘little General,” the name the patients
in Valjevo gave Dr. Hutchison, No privilege that
could be got for the women in her charse was un-
claimed, nor any bad treatment that could be averted
allowed to continue if “the little General,” waving
the Geneva Convention in the face of the Austrians
could obtain what was necessary, She once sadly re-

arked, “The Austrians do not seem ever to have
heard of the Geneva Convention!” In the beginning
of October the Unit were hurriedly moved from Valjevo
to Pojega, taking their equipment with them. — Here
they were to form a base hospital, but they had hardly
got into working order, when they were avain moved
to) Vrinjatcha) Bania, which Was) reached on 20th
October, where they were given a hospital of a hundred
beds. On roth November the enemy took possession
ot the town, They behaved well, and the Scottish
Women were allowed to carry on their work. In the
end of the month, however, the Unit was ordered to
INrushevatz, where Dr. Invlis was, ostensibly to work
in a hospital there. They were not, however, allowed
to take their equipment, which was seized by the enemy
for use in their hospitals. But Dr. Hutchison refused to
give it up until she obtained a receipt for it, in order
that it might be paid for after the war, according to the
provisions of the Geneva Convention. At Krushevatz
the only complaint made by the women was, that in
the hotel where they were billeted the officers’ table
was always served first, with the result *'.t there
was seldom enough food for the women in we hack.
ground |!

id
y

ete er a er

5 wee
—

peseioarsitstt, rsfeite

Ne nee

SME"

ae Ur

OT ae.

164 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

“During my! peregrinations over the town I came
on Dr. Inglis and her Unit. If I had up till then felt
that we in ro way merited the title of ‘the heroic band
of women,’ I came away from Dr. Inglis’ Hospital
feeling that they 4ad earned it. Picture over twenty
people —including the head of the Hospital—dining and
sleeping and eating and washing in one recom :? picture
all their equipment gone, and them looking after Serbs
in the best way they could in hospital corridors. They
were, however, wearing no air of martyrdom,”

On 4th December they were again moved, and
in a few days arrived at Kevavara, in the plains of
Hungary, where they stayed nearly three months. The
food at first was not good: “I found it was exactly
the same as the rations served cut to the Russians
and Italians who were prisoners, so I made a protest,
pointing out that doctors were entitled to officers’
treatment under the Geneva Convention, After this
we yot better bread, and fresh meat sometimes.”

During all the weary weeks at Kevavara the
spirits of the women never failed. They played
rounders sometimes in the little yard behind the house
where they lived. They enjoved lore walks, though
the Austrian guard who had to accompany them did
not, “After one expedition our guard got so tired that
he complained to the captain, though we had only been
about six or cight miles. He reported that it would
not be so bad it we would only walk, but we ‘flew like
ceese over the mud.’”

“Three armed men were on cuard day and night
in the passage, and at tirst were very surly, but gradu-
ally their behaviour improved, till at last they were

* Quotations from Dr. Tutehison’s report

4 Later on Dr. Hutchison herself ho sutfer the same hardships, her

party of thirty-two beimny entirely coni. ‘o two small rooms during her

three months’ stay in Kevavara

came
on felt
- band
spital
wenty
x and
icture
Serbs
They

and
1s of
The
actly
slans
test,
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the
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ugh

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uid
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ere

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her

‘TEIN |

AT KRUSHEVATZ 165

quite friendly. We used to borrow their uniforms for
the charades and tableaux which we got up to pass
the ovcninys, and sometimes they took part in these
e tertainments tnemselves, but not when we represented
tlh: Kaiser or I-mperor Joseph.” “On Christmas Day
We bad quite a jolly time, with a Christmas tree and a
first-rate dinner. We went out and got some live ecvese
from the market, which were killed and cooked,
and we had all kinds of cakes, and even butter—at
tive shillings a pound! In the evening we sane carols
and drank toasts. We even ventured for the first time
to sing ‘God Save the King’ under our breath. After
this we sane it every night, and it cheered us up Wonder
fully. We had our British flay with us too. I wound
it round my body, under my clothes, when we evacuated
our Hospital, so that it should not be trampled upon
and insulted.”

On 4th February they were taken to Budapest,
and from there to Vienna, where their troubles were
practically atan end. On their arrival in Switzerland,
as they crossed the border, they waved the precious
flag out of the windows and shouted, “God Save the
Kine,”

On her return home, Dr. Inglis wrote an account
of their work in Krushevatz for the Auyeglishwoman
of June 1916. The following extracts are taken from
that article :

“The Units left at Krushevatz, however, were the
fortunate Units. To them fell the honour of caring for
the Serbian wounded through the first. three tragic
months of the foreign occupation. At first they worked
in two parties : the one in the Girls’ School, which was

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166 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

at the Serbian Military Hospital,—the Czar Lazar
Hospital,—where they were given charge of the annexe
formed in the storehouses, The Hospital at the
Girls’ School kad a short, if brilliant, career, for it was
seized, with all its equipment, by the Germans two days
after their entry. ‘Of course they took it,’ said our
Serbian Director. ‘You had made it so beautiful.’

“After the loss of the Girls’ School both units
worked at the Czar Lazar until it Was evacuated on
the oth of February.

“The German occupation of Krushevatz was
heralded in proper form by bombardment. The Serbs
blew up a railway bridge, which attracted their fire,
and they threw three bombs and several shells into the
town. We felt that we had had our baptism of fire.

“Their entry next morning, 7th November, was
almost in the form of an anticlinax. We turned into
the principal street to find a German reviment lined
up there. The best of the Serbs had left, white flaes
were hancing out of most of the occupied houses, and
Krushevatz was taken.

he: (rar ioacer Hospital was in a building de-
signed for the barracks, and coukl have held comfort-
ably four hundred beds. In the yvrounds were two
small buildings, intended as the hospital in connection
with the barracks, two biy stores, or Magazines, as
we aiways called them, and numerous outhouses, When
we went up there, there were nine hundred patients,
three hundred of them ja. the Magazine under Dr.
Hollway. During the greatest’ pressure the numbers
rose to one thousand two hundred. Patients were
placed in the corridors-—at first one man to one bed.
but later two beds tovether and three men in them,
Then there were no more bedsteads ; mattresses were
placed on the floors, We filled up the outhouses, “Pie

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AT KRUSHEVATZ 167

Magazine in full blast was a sight, once seen, never
to be forgotten, The ground flat had an uneven
earthen floor, not the place one would choose to nurse
surgical patients, Dr. Corbett and Dr. Scott—the latter
had come home from New Zealand ‘to do her bit'—in
charge. But upstairs in Dr, Hollway’s domain, the
patients occupied the shelving which ran the whole
length of the building in four rows. There were three
tiers, the slightly wounded men in the highest tier.
The time of day to see the Magazine at its best—or
rather worst—was in the gloaming, when two or three
feeble oi] lamps shed an uncertain light over the scene,
and the tin bowls clattered and rattled as the evening
ration of beans Was given out, and the men swarmed
up and down the poles of their shelves, chattering as
Serbs will chatter. The Sisters called the plaice the
‘Zoo,’ the only name to d ‘scribe it,

“We could not take away the men’s uniforms either
in the magazines or corridors, for the weather was
bitterly cold, and there was already a shortave of fuel,
This fact, taken with the overcrowding and the condition
of the men, —faticued, depressed, and underfed, —made
the possibility of an outbreak of typhus a very real danger,
At the request of the Director of the Hospital, Major
Nicolitch, we opened a siaall building in the grounds as
an infectious diseases hospital, and he appealed to the
Austrians for the use of another building to relieve over-
crowding, ‘There is no other building,’ was the answer,
though all the time the Upper storey of the prefecture

was empty (the lower one was used as a store for Red

Cross equipment, which they had taken from us without

receipts), and the fact was brought to their notice. But

we soon realised that no help was to be expected from
=

that quarter, and that we must help ourselyes. So we
improvised a bathroom in the corner of the Magazine,

;

eis

168 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

took over all the bathing arranvements for the Hospital,
set the two French disinfectors going, with the help of a
Russian and one of ourselves, who was something of a
mechanic, and last and most Important of all, we took
over the laundry, and the Hospital got clean linen. We
worked round the Hospital, bathing and disinfecting
every five days. In this connection we must always
remember Sister Strange’s name, who took over this
very necessary if uninteresting work, from the point of
view of a fully trained nurse, and carried it through
triumphantly. We had not a single case of typhus,

“Only two cases of typhus appeared in our little
infectious diseases hospital, and they were both from
among the civilian population, We heard that there
were a great many cases in the Austrian Army,

Later the Director made over to us the whole down-
stairs flat of the Hospital, with the room for dressines
and the medical ward, as well as the little hospital for
infectious cases, the Mavazine, the laundry, the sanita-
tion. =There was one bit of work which we were offered
and refused to take—the care ot women suffering from
venereal disease. It was very dithcult to refuse, with our
modern vision of the solidarity of womanhood: but the
Hospital was not opened for the safety of the women.
but for the protection of the German Army. To have
taken over that work would haye been to encourave vice,
and that we could not do,

“Perhaps the most important department was the
sanitation. We had not an expert amonest us; but when
Dr. Hutchison’s Unit passed through, her Sanitary In-
spector, Miss Gordon, came up to inspect us, and was
pleased with the result. When we arrived, that hospital
compound was a truly terrible place—the sivhts and
smells beyond description. We dug into the “round the
rubbish, emptied the overflowing cesspools, built incin-

pital,
of a
of a
took

We
cting
Ways

this

it of

ough

little
from
here

oWn-
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ered
rom
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the
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the
hen
In-
Was
ital
and
the
sities

AT KRUSHEVATZ 169

erators, and cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned. That is
a Briton’s job all over the world, and our three untrained
sritish orderlies took to it like ducks to water. It was
not the pleasantest or easiest work in the world; but
they did it, and did it magnificently Miss W-——
especially developed wonderful powers of command—
managed her men, fed them, clothed them, and left that
hospital compound not, it is true, ex: ictly like an E nelish
park, but at least clean.

‘The prisoners taken in the south were brought
through WKrushevatz on their way to the Concentration
Camps in Hungary—one day as many as three thousand,
We had seen these men all through the summer just
beyond our amps é at Mladanovatz and V aljevo with their
heads held high, and conscious of the good work they
had done for the Allies in driving back the Austrian
‘punitive expedition,’ They used to say to us with such
childlike pride, ‘We are the only ones who, so far, have
beaten our enemy.’ They came back to us broken and
dispirited men, over-fatigucd, and « dirty, and underfed.
They were turned into the Hospital erounds, given their
scanty ration of beans with a little meat and half a
loaf of bread for twenty-four hours. For some weeks
they vot only a quorter of a loaf—one loaf amone four
men. Their c: amp-iires flickered fitful! v through the long,
bitter cold nivhts. E very scrap of wood in the Enelouacs
Was torn up: the doors and windows from the buildings
wrecked by the first bombardme ‘nt; the little foot- bridge
over the drains ; the trees hacked dow n. One night the
scene might have been the retreat from Moscow. The
ground was white with snow, a tine blizzard was blowing,
almost blotting out in the distance the crouching figures of

the men as they sat in their ragged uniforms round the
fires.

tere Was snortage of food even while we were

i
a
j
{
}
}
{
u

170 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

there. Remember what a hospital diet usually is, and
then remember that we had to feed our patients on beans
and a scanty allowance of meat—-which Wa not always
vood—half a loaf of bread a day for cach man, and some
weak tea. One day the Director got five hundred eges,
but they were seized at the | lospital gates bythe Austrians,
There was rice in the stores, and we had some sacks too,
and we boiled it up with condensed milk and made ‘sutly-
ave,’ which added something to the diet, but when sugar
failed, as it did eventually, half the good of this addition
failed also. Our Administrator, Mrs. Havertield, scoured
s, and we bought what we
could with the Scottish funds, but it Was not enough,

the country for milk and cou

ehese months at Merashevars were a strange
mixture of sorrow and happiness. Was the country
really so very beautiful, or was it the contrast to all the
misery that made it evident 2 There was a curious ex-
hilaration in Working for those vrateful, patient men, and
in helpine the Director, so loyal to his country, and so
conscientious in his work, to bring order out of chaos,
and vet the unhappiness in the Serbian houses, and the
paysical wretchediness of those cold, hungry prisoners,
lay always like a dead Wweieht on our spirits. Never shall
We forget the beauty of the sunrises, or the glory of the
sunsets, with clear, cold, sunlight days between, and the
wonderful starlight nights. But we shall never forget ‘the
Zoo’ either, or the groans outside when we hid our heads
in the blankets to shut cut the sound. Nor shall we ever
forget the cheeriness or trusttulness of all that hospital,

1
|
i

and especially of the officers’ ward. We got no news, and

we made it a point of honour not to believe a word of the
German telegrams posted up in the town. So we lived
of rumour, and what rumour! The [english at Skoplje,
the Italians at Pojega, and the Russians over the Car
pathians — we could not believe that Serbia had been

Pr elnicl
oceans
Ways
some
Tans,
» LOO,
utly-
ugar
ition
ured
t we

Noe
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the
the
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yer
ill.
nd
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AT KRUSHEVATZ 171

sacrificed for nothing. We were convinced it was some
deep-laid scheme for weakening the other fronts, and so
it was quite natural to hear that the British had taken
Belvium and the French were in Metz.

“When we reached Zurich and found everything
much the same as when we disappeared into the silence,
our hearts were sick for the people we left behind us still
waiting and trusting,

“ At last, on the gth of February, our Hospital was
emptied. The chronic invalids had been ‘put on com-
mission’ and sent to their homes. The vast majority 0!
the men had been removed to Hungary, and the few re-
maining, badly wounded men who would not be tit for
months, taken over to the Austrian hospitals.

“On the rth we were sent north under an

Austrian guard with fixed bayonets. Great care was
taken that we should not communicate with any one
cr route. At Belvrade, however, we were put into a
waiting-room for the night, and after we had crept into
our sleeping-bags we were suddenly roused to speak to
a Serbian woman, The kindly Austrian officer in charve
of us said she was the wife of a Serbian officer in Krushe-
vatz, and that if we would use only German we might
peak to her. She wanted news of her husband. We
were able to reassure her. He was vetting better—he
was in the Gymnasium.‘ Vrylo dobra’ (‘ Very well’), she
said, holding both our hands.‘ yo, vrylo dobra,’ we
said, looking apprehensively at the officer. But he only
laughed. Probably his Serbian, too, was equal to that.

“That was the last Serbian we spoke to in Serbia,
and we left her a little happier.

“And thus we came to Vienna, where the American
Embassy took us over. When we thanked one of the
secretaries for all the infinite trouble they had taken, he

ers

newered in teint : # Pets ACh Cee t
answered in truly American phrase : Vel. “ih cannot

sialelplibaienitdieiuarata ct aneahcasintaiiossdlcestalples

os. eeeinae-

{

ee eae a cae dio

172 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

say it has been any trouble. But it has taken some
doing,’

“From Vienna we went to Bludenz, where, thanks to
‘military reasons,’ we had cight days’ delightful rest ; and
then to Zurich.”

A plan of the Czar Lazar Hospital and its grounds is
viven, because it is felt that the scene of the wonderful
work done by the Scottish Women through those winter
months is full of interest, a work which has been one
of the strongest factors in binding our little Ally with
us In bonds of friendship.

leurther, those who know her best feel that it was
here, going in spirit with her beloved Serbs. through
their time of extremest woe, that Dr. Inglis’ ‘heart broke,”
and the * beginning of the end” came upon her.

But we cannot end on this note. For Serbia we
know, that ‘sunset in the West is sunrise in the East.”
And as regards the Scottish Women we are glad to
hear of them “playing” in the station at Belgrade,
where they were kept waiting several hours, seeing how
long they could walk along a rail of the railway lines
without slipping off! Also we rejoice in the thought of
their first breakfast at Vienna when. told by Dr. Inglis
that they were to cat as much as they wanted and
the Unit would pay, they each had “ plates and plates of
ham and egys, and cups and cups of coffee.”

ome

<$ to
and

Is is
erful
nter
one
with

was
uch

ke.”

PAINT.

NPY TAI

AT DALLANCHKES,

AT RUSHEVATZ 17

Letrer rrom M. Pacuitcu, Prime MINISTER

OF SERBIA
“CLARIDGE'S HOTEL]
LONDON, 4M April 1916.

“To the President of the Executive Committee of the
Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Service.
‘Deak MapamM,—Our Minister in London, Monsieur

Boschkovitch, informs me that Drs. FE. Inglis and

Hutchison, together with the members of their repre-

sentative units, have recently returned from Serbia,

where they had remained as long as they could, taking
care of our wounded soldiers.
“In the name of His Royal Highness the Crown

Prince, in the name of the Serbian Government and of

the whole Serbian nation, | have the honour to convey
through you the expressions of our highest gratitude to
the noble daughters of the great British nation who
have risked their lives and sacrificed their freedom for
the health and the good of the Serbian soldier and the
Serbian people.

“T avail myself of this opportunity to tell you how
much we appreciate the help rendered to Serbia by the
Scottish Women’s Association, who sent so many and
so splendidly organized hospitals to our country, and
who are still continuing to help our people as much as
they can.

“The Serbian nation will never forget what the
Scottish Women have done for them.—Yours very
sincerely, (Sgd.) Prime Minister of Serbia,

Nik, P. Pacnitcn.”

Ht
l
i
I

PART FOUR: OUR CHIEF?

“Le cweur dela femme est un trésor Won Dieu tire ce gue Phumantté
a de metlleur”

* TRANGE that within the limits of one century
x J the awful spectre of war should so conspicu-
ously make actual the potentialities of women,

In 1854, Florence Nightingale and her little band
of nurses astonished a too conventional world by
proceeding to the seat of war to tend the. sick
and the wounded. Sixty years later Dr, Elsie Inglis
re-enacted the drama at a more advanced stage of
evolution,

By the year 1914 the impetus given in 1854 had
produced a merciful supply of efficient nurses whose
services were gladly and as a matter of course accepted
by the war authorities. But the medical Woman, the
woman surgeon, wis still an unrecoynised asset of the
State. Perhaps a dim consciousness of her existence
and possible usefulness as a stopgap at home in certain
hospitals during war-time did exist in the minds of the
more advanced of the authorities, but that she should
dream of offerine her services to tend her own country-
men, to wield ‘the healing knife” of the surseon in the
wards of our hospitals at the seat of war, was to outrave
the most sacred traditions of womanhood as conceived
by the official mind.

Nevertheless the vision had dawned in the soul of at
least one far-seeing capable medical woman. It came

? By Miss 8. E. S. Mair.
174

c
+
“<

DR. ESE INGLIS,

Bia tenas a Laster: bi ens verer noe

OUR CHIEF 175

to Dr. Elsie Inglis in the early days of that fateful
August 1914.

Retused recognition by the War Office, and thrown
back on her own sad heart yearning to serve and make
it possible for other professional women to do likewise,
there leapt to her clear mind the solution of the problem.
“Tet us,” she exclaimed, “have a Unit of our own.”
A Unit to be entirely staffed by women, and to be
offered with a fleet of cars to the Allies of Great Britain.

This is not the chapter to deal with the actual work
of the Units of the S.W.H. Its object is rather to give
some faint picture of the woman herself—ot the person-
ality that has filled no small place in public interest
through the terrible years of war, of which she has
been well called “the Florence Nightingale.” The
name conferred is more descriptive than all, to whom its
superficial appropriateness appeals, may quite realise.
The outstanding facts in the lives of these two remark-
able women cannot fail to suggest the comparison, but
a study of their characters reveals a still deeper re-
semblance. To both the service of man was the part of
their creed which gave richness to their service of God.
To both the obligation to use whatever powers and
talents they possessed for the good of the world was
paramount. Both believed in the absolute duty of
“following the gleam” that shone on their path of life
whatever might be the apparent obstacles. Difficulties
to them were only so many stones on the road to be
pleasantly stepped over if possible—or otherwise sternly
cast aside.

The heroine of 1854, in her luxurious home and
loving family, had more of the psychological difficulties
to contend with than she of tgtq. With a heart full of
aspirations for a high calling in the remedying of the

evils of ignorant nursing and of desperately defective

rarer sen:

: inniiene sasisoe deem

Mab ierthes att)

Briar maooes teres scr rere»

176 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

sanitation, Florence Nightingale had, throughout many
years, totame her spirit to the affectionate bondage of a con-
ventional home of the early nineteenth century. Whereas
the ardent spirit of Elsie Inglis met from her earliest
days full sympathy and understanding in her more
modern home circle—no beating of the wings against
the cage was her lot. To this one thinks was due some
of the radiance of her nature throughout life—the sunny
smile, the indomitable optimism.

Promptitude was a striking note of similarity in these
kindred spirits. Quickness of perception and prompt
action were of the essence of these very vital characters,

On 20th September 1854 the battle of Alma was
fought, and in the Times of roth October publicity was
given to the terribly inadequate arrangements for the
nursing of the British soldiers—on 27th October Florence
Nightingale and her band of nurses sailed from Marseilles
to Scutari.

On 4th August 191g the Great War was proclaimed,
and on the 19th November the first Scottish Women’s
contingent crossed the Channel. These dates ar
eloquent of the strength of purpose, the will-power that
inspired in both cases the tremendous activities of the
intervening weeks,

To this wonderful courage and intrepidity of action
Dr. Inglis owed much of her power. Whilst others
were considering and planning she acted, and if
occasionally her rapidity overstepped the constituted
order of things, it was generally justified by the event
and pardoned by those responsible for the business
management of the scheme. The measure of her
earnestness was the measure of the occasional asperity
that spurred the sides, as it were, of the slower of her
co-workers. A certain stir of feeling might be percept-
ible in the busy hive at the office of organization when

many
Lcon-
ereas
rliest
more
rainst
some
unny

these
»mpt
fers,
was
was
the
ence
‘illes

ned,
en's
are
that
the

tion
ers
if
ited
ent
1eSS
her
rity
her
pt-
len

OUR CHIEF 177

a specially energetic visit of the Chief had been paid.
Had the impossible been accomplished? If not, why ?
Who had failed in performance? Take the task from
her; give it to another. No excuses in war-time—no
weakness to be tolerated—onward ever onward.

To those inclined to hesitate or at least to draw
breath occasionally in the course of their heavy work of
organizing, raising money, gathering equipment, securing
transport passports, and attending to the other innumer-
able secretarial affairs connected with so bi a task, she
showed no weakening pity ; the one invariable goad ap-
plied was ever, “ It is war-time.” Noone must pause, no
one must waver; things must simply be done whether
possible or not, and somehow by her inspiration they
generally were done. In those days of agonising stress
she appeared in herself the very embodiment of wire-
less _telegraphy, aeronautic locomotion, with telepathy
and divination thrown in—neither time nor space was
of account. Puck alone could quite have reached her
standard with his engirdling of the earth in forty
minutes. Poor limited Aes could but do their best
with the terrestrial means at their disposal. P ossibly at
times their make-weight steadied the brilliant work of
their Leader.

Something of the spirit of the great Napoleon’s
maxim, % Never employ an unlucky General a second
time,” directed the policy of “the Chief.” But with what
a rewarding smile or affectionate hand cl asp she re-
cognised any special effort made on right lines by her
subordinates or fellow-workers! To her it mattered not,
indeed it was the more valuable, that useful and success-
ful schemes sprang from other minds than her own—
the “rightness” was all that counted with her. This
splendid activity of Dr. Inglis must not be confounded

with the restlessness of one rushing hither and thither
12

i
F
i
fi
y

178 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

in feverish excitement—far from it; her nature was of
the strong depth of the ocean, at all times working by
laws and principles, but capable at times of raising a
breezy surface—a clearing stir. She could never have
danced over the surface of life in light-hearted fashion: her
soul could only find satisfaction in sounding its depths and
touching its spring of action. Hers was truly a great soul,
Twenty years of earnest professional life in the
city of her affections, with many cognate interests pur-
sued in limited intervals of leisure, notably schemes for
the upliftine of the downtrodden, the widening of oppor-
tunities for women, and the cause of justice and fair play
for every one, had prepared her for any vreat enterprise
that the future might require of her. It was with
girt loin and lit lamp that August 1914 found her. For
three years her great nature was to be privileged to do
a work exacting its full powers, demanding the utter-
most of her strength even to the last breath of the
gallant spirit as it winged its way to the higher sphere.
This is not the place to deal with Dr. Inglis’ visits to
and correspondence with the War Office, Foreign Office,
and the Admiralty; but these were important factors in
the moulding of her schemes, and can hardly fail to
suggest further comparison with the work of Florence
Nightingale. More especially does it resemble that of her
first Crimean expedition, when by her wonderful grasp of
the needs of sanitation she effected so many great im-
provements that later on she was in a large measure
instrumental in causing the appointment of a Royal
Commission, resulting in improved military sanitation
such as enormously reduced the death-rate among
British soldiers. Had it been decreed that Elsie Inglis’
precious life on earth was to be prolonged beyond the
Armistice there can be little doubt that from the spirit

that had been so ‘finely touched” there would have

was of
ng by
sing a
r have
in; her
hs and
it soul,
in the
S pur-
1es for
yppor-
r play
‘prise
with
For
to do
utter-
f the
Ere,
sits to
Yfice,
ors in
ail to
rence
ot her
isp of
it im-
ASUTE
Royal
ation
mong
nelis’
1 the
spirit
have

OUR CHIEF 179

been further “fine issues,” specially for the advantage
of the smaller nations whose splendid contrivution to
the war for Right and Liberty has won them a worthy
place in the polity of nations. The name of Dr. Elsie
Inglis will be linked for ever with that of Serbia, and
handed down from generation to generation with some-
thing of legendary veneration.

In outward appearance the Leader of the S.\W EH. was
no Amazon, but just a woman of gentle breeding, court-
eous, sweet-voiced, somewhat short of stature, alert, and
with the cyes of a Seer, blue-grey and clear, looking forth
from under a brow wide and high, with soft brown hair
brushed loosely back ; with lips often parted in a radiant
smile, discovering small teeth white and recular, but lips
w ich were at times firmly closed with a fixity of purpose
such as would warn off unwarrantable Opposition or ob-
jections from less bold workers. Those clear eyes had a
peculiar power of withdrawing on rare occasions as it
were behind a curtain when their owner desired to
absent herself from discussion of points on which she
preferred to give no opinion. It was no mere ex-
pression such as absent-mindedness might produce, but
was, as she herself was aware, a voluntary action of
withdrawal from all participation in what was going on,
The discussion over, in a moment the blinds would be
up and the soul looked forth through its clear windows
with steady gaze. Whether the oral doors had been
closed also there is no knowing.

But words are poor por'rait painters, and for a pre-
sentment of Dr. Elsie Inglis, respected, admired by
a wide public, beloved of her patients and followers,
recourse should be had to a bust, the work of the great
living sculptor, Mestrovitch of Serbia. In this beau-
tiful bust we have a representation in bronze of our
Ciiei such as will express for posterity something of the

i
i
f
i

So SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

outward form of this wonderful woman, but it is in its
spiritual interpretation of her whom we love to remember
as our Leader, Inspirer, and Friend that this bust is so
satisitying, In its deep seriousness, its calm, retlective
expression, we scem to see the very soul that animated
the splendid activities of mind and body. With the in-
sight of the true artist, Mestrovitch tells us more in bronze
of the source from which flowed Dr. Elsie’s powers of
service than any words can convey. We feel, as we
look at his representation, that here is one who in all the
stress and strain of life never let go the anchor of Hope,
the cross of Faith, or the heart of Love.

It seems fitting that the nation to which this great
and beautiful life was given should in its turn present to
the Scottish people this tribute of undying gratitude for
the heroic sacrifice of one of its noblest daughters, whose
life and death will for ever emblazon the pages of
Scottish history.

in. its
nber
is SO
ctive
ated
e in-
onze
rs of
; we
| the

ope,

reat
it to
e for
hose
s of

~QWUR- CHERE

Bast by Mestroviteh, in the

Seaottish Nation

i Gaallery,

f
'

PART FIVE: WITH THE SERB
DIVISION IN RUSSIA AND ROUMANIA!

CHAPTER |
MEJIDIA

N the month of July 1916 the Serbian Minister in
l London, M. Boskovitch, asked Dr. Inglis if the
Scottish Women's Hospitals would be willing to supply
one or more of four field hospitals for service with the
Serb Division in Russia. As soon as this request was
made known to the Scottish Women's Hospitals by
Dr. Inglis, the London Units Committee of the Scottish
Women’s Hospitals offered to equip and maintain two
of these field hospitals, with a motor transport attached
tothem. At the time, Dr. Inglis was busy in making
preparations to take out a Unit to the Serbian Army in
Salonika, but when she found that these Serbs in Russia
were in very great need of medical relief she decided to
accept the offer to take charge of the Field Hospitals
and Transport Section and go to Russia.

That a clear understanding and appreciation of sub-
sequent events affecting the relations between Dr. Inglis
and the Serb Division may be reached, a brief account
of its genesis must be given here.

The division consisted mainly of Serbo-Croats and
Slovenes, that is, Serbs who, as subjects of Austria-
Hungary, were obliged to serve in the Austrian Army.
Nearly all of these men had been taken prisoners by the

' By Miss Edith Palliser.

182 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Russians or, perhaps more correctly, had) voluntarily

surrendered to the Russiins rather than ficht Sor the
enemies of their co-nationals. In May rors a consider-
able number of these A\ustro-S rbs) volunteered for

service with the Serbian Army. and by arranvemeat with
the Russian Government, who gave them their freedom,
they were transported to Serbia. \fter the entry of
Bulsaria into the war it was no lonver possible to send
them to Serbia, and 2000 were left behind at Odessa.
The number of these volunteers increased, however, to
such an extent. that, by permission of the Serbian
Government, Serbian officers from Corfu) were sent
ever to organize them into a military unit for service
with the Russian Army. By May 1916 a first division
was formed under the command of the Serb Colonel,
Colonel Hadjitch, and later a second division under
General Zivkovitch. It was to the first division that the
Field Hospitals and Transport were to be attached.

The Unit mustered at Liverpool on the 29th of
August, and left for Archangel on the following day.
It consisted of a personnel of seventy-five, with three
doctors, in charee of Dr. Elsie Inelis, C.M.LO,

Ina letter, Dr. Inglis gave an account of the voyage
to Archangel, which was ‘a most pleasant one and very
restful.” “ This.” she said, ‘‘is a very steady little boat,
ind we have had very calm weather after the first
day, when we pitched and tossed a vood deal. The
majority of the Unit collapsed, but reappeared none
the worse, and bustling with energy! The British
girl is a very delightful creature.

“Some of them were really too funny the day of the
alarm for boat drill quite indignant that there was no
submarine there. We did ight a submarine early one
morning, but she took no notice of us, So we took none
of her. Sie was very big, possibly the Veulsckdand.

tarily
r the
sider-
| for
with
‘dom,
r\ of
send
lessa.
Sr, tO
rbian
sent
‘rVice
rision
lonel,
under
it the

none
ritish

f the
tis no
y One
none
1,

MEJIDIA 183

They reached Archangel on the roth of September,
and heard that their destination was Odessa. From the
moment of their landing in Russia, and throughout their
journey south, the Unit met with a most cordial welcome.
Dr. Inglis in her letters repeatedly refers to the extra-
ordinary kindness shown them both by the Russian
officials and their own countrymen. A magnificent
reception was yiven to the Unit on their arrival at
Odessa on the 21st of September. The Governor of the
town, the head of the medical department of the Russian
Army, the British Consul and Mrs. Bagge, and numerous
Russian officials met them at the station. Twenty Serb
officers were also present, lined up to salute them.

The news that greeted Dr. Inglis was grave. General
Zivkovitch informed her that the first division was in
action and had suffered heavily. Later, a full account
of the battle showed that the Serb Division had vone
into the fight 14,000 strong; they were in the centre,
with the Roumanians on the left and the Russians on
the right. The Roumanians and Russians broke, and
the Serbs, who had fought for twenty-four hours on two
fronts, came out with only 4ooo men.

General Zivkovitch was at first inclined to keep the
Hospital at Odessa to take charge of 1000 wounded
Serbs, and to send the transport immediately to the
front. Dr. Inglis expressed her willingness to carry out his
wishes, but explained that if her hospit: il were separated
from its transport it would become practically stationary,
and it was not equipped for this. General Zivkovitch
saw the reasonableness of these representations and
it was decided that the Unit should go on to the front.
Ife asked Dr. Inglis to make arrangements meanwhile
for the care of the wounded Serbs in the town. This
she gl idly consented to do, and she was successful
in obtaining from the Russian authorities a building

i
i
4
i
{
f
i

2 TS OTe eae T

184 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

admirably suited for a hospital. In this task Dr. Inglis
had the invaluable aid of the British Consul, Mr. Bagge,
who introduced her to the leading Russian authorities,
and was unsparing in his efforts to render her assistance
in every way.

The days of waiting at Odessa were enlivened by
constant festivities. It was not, indeed, possible for the
Unit to accept the c rdial invitations showered upon
them. Chief among these events were the Serb Mess
dinner and the gala performance at the Opera House.
At the Serb Mess, Dr. Inglis and her party received a
rousing welcome. As they entered the room the two
hundred officers rose and greeted them with cheers which
were all but deafening. General Zivkovitch himself was
present part of the time, and the guests were entertained
by songs and dances. All the national anthems were
sung, including the Croatian and Czech national airs.

Of the gala performance at the Opera Dr. Inglis
gives the following account :

‘The Mayor of the town sent us tickets for the
performance at the Opera. Fourteen boxes were put
at our disposal, sufficient to accommodate everybody.
After the second act the Grand Duchess? intimated that
she wished to inspect the whole Unit, and we were
accordingly drawn up in the corridor. The Consul
presented me to her, and then | presented the officers.
She walked down the whole row, speaking to all the
members... . When we returned to our seats. the
orchestra played the British National Anthem three
times, and the third time the Unit took up the air and
sang. The whole audience rose, turned towards us,
cheering and waving handkerchiefs. We all felt. so
touched. Itis a vreat thine to feel that we are going on
to our work with so much enthusiasm behind us.”

1 Dr, Inglis’ report. * Olga Petroyna, an aunt of the Czar.
s

Inglis
agge,
rities,
tance

d by
r the
upon
Mess
ouse,
‘eda

two
vhich
f was
ined
were

nglis

the

| put
ody.
that
were
mnsul
cers,
the
the
hree
and
us,
SO

yon

ir.

Lie es,

LEURNING

MEJIDIA 185

On Monday, the 25th of September, the Unit left
Odessa for Reni ex route to Czernavoda, where Dr. Inglis
was to receive her instructions. This journey, which in
ordinary times was a matter of some five or six hours,
occupied four days and three nights. The long delays
were the more trying to all, haunted as they were
by the thought of how urgently they were needed. It
Was quite usual to wait two hours for every half-hour
travelled, and the rate of progress was so slow that some
members of the Unit would jump out and run alongside
the train.

*“ We meandered quietly through the country. We
went into the villages and saw. the people and the
churches while we waited at the stations. A great many
of the Unit basked in the sunshine on the open trucks
which carried the motors. At one village where some
of us came in for a service, it being a feast day, the
priest was reading the New Testament lesson, and when
he had ended he said, ‘Let us pray for the English
Sisters who have come to help us.’ At another village
the priest came in and blessed our food. The children
were always most friendly. In one place, a little Jewish
girl, in their funny German dialect, told us she knew all
about England; she had learnt about jt at school, and
England was ‘little, little —putting her forefinger and
thumb together—and Russia was big ‘like that —throw-
ing her arms wide. The Russian officials were very
kind, and as helpful as they could be, but at last. in
despair I wired back to Odessa to say we must have a
Russian officer on our train. We wondered very much
if the telegram got through, but we certainly got on more
quickly after that, and we heard later that the telegram
did arrive,”

From Reni the “Greys.” as the Hospital Staff were

* Dr. Inglis’ report.

SO ence eat cep

186 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

called (to distinguish them from the Transport, who wore
khaki and were called the * Buffs”), went by steam-launch
down the Danube to Czernavoda. There they were met
by an Irishman, an officer in the Russian Army, who,
Dr. Inglis said, “spoke Russian like a Russian, French
like a Frenchman, and English like an Irishman, not to
mention Spanish, Italian, German, Hindu, and a few
other odds and ends.” This officer's name was Bryson,
and he was most helpful in seeing them and the equip-
ment on to the train for Mejidia. There they arrived at
cleven at night and slept in the train, no arrangements
having been made for them. The Transport section
had a more uncomfortable experience. The cars and
lorries had to be taken down to Czernavoda in two
barges, and there was no accommodation for the drivers,
They lived, slept, and ate where they could tind room
on the iron decks, without any shelter.

They were told they would arrive in Czernavoda in
afew hours, but the few hours lengthened out to a night
and a day. On landing at Czernavoda at night they
found the place deserted : all the civilians had evacuated
the town. There was no food, ard, to make matters
worse, the rain came down in torreuts and the wind was
blowing half a gale.

The drivers stayed by their cars all night, taking
turns at sentry-go, At daylight, preparations were madc
to leave,” “so in streaming rain and seas of mud we
made a start. After about ten kilometres the stone road
came to an end, and there we saw, stuck in the mud in
every kind of attitude of helplessness, several Russian
lorries that had been in the barses next to us on the
journey up, and had gone off in the inky darkness the
previous evening with much noise and bluster.

“The road having come to an end, we had to vo

a. a a tetcs renor:
his. PIGVOCTHuCIGS TCpor °

) wore
aunch
e met
who,
rench
1Ot to
1 few
‘yson,
quip-
ed at
nents
‘ction
; and

two
ivers.
room

da in
night

they
lated
PeuerS
| was

king
nade
| we
road
d in
sian

the

MEJIDIA 187

along a track through fields. Here began many strenu-
ous hours of real labour. There was a specially steep
pitch to be surmounted, the soft surface preventing the
wheels getting any grip, but with rope around the rear
wheels and much pushing and heaving, all were got up,
including the big lorries. On arriving at Mejidia we
discovered we had come the wrong way in spite of our
guide. The distance covered was only fifteen miles,
but it took eight hours to reach Mejidia!"

The day after the Hospitals arrived at Mejidia Dr.
Inglis saw Colonel Hadjitch at the Serb Headquarters
at Bulbul Mic, and they decided to take a barrack
offered by the head of the Russian Medical Department
and open a hospital at Mejidia, the cars to run out to
Bulbul Mic, about ten miles, to bring in patients.

“It was no good in the world,” wrote Dr. Inclis,
“talking about regular Field Hospitals to them, until
they had tried our mettle. The ordinary male disbelief
in our capacity cannot be argued away ; it can only be
worked away.”

It was not long before the Serb and Russian
authorities received proof of the capacity of the Unit
for hard work, and of their powers of endurance under
the strain and stress of war conditions.

The same day, 2nd October, the operations of cleaning
and whitewashing the barrack were begun, Half the
equipment was unloaded and sent up to the Hospital, and,
for its better security, Dr. Potter and Dr. Corbett made
it their bed for the night.

“That evening, after we were all in bed, a Russian
officer came to ask if we were ready for wounded. A
mMe€ssave was sent down saying ‘No.’ Then the question
came up, * When will you be ready ?’ and I sent back the
answer, * To-morrow evening.” The Unit took it
Wilh the greatest calmness - only Mrs. Haverfield

188 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

murmured from her bed, ‘I wonder you did not say
to-night !'"!

The Hospital stood on the top of a hill overlooking
Mejidia. On the hill were other barracks, one occupied
by the Russian Red Cross and another by the 2nd Serb
Lazarette, to which the Unit was attached.

The barrack had two storeys: on each storey was a
long room divided down the middle by a brick partition
which did not reach up to the ceiling, so there was a
thorough draught. At either end were three or four
small rooms: office, bathroom, and disinfecting room.
For the first five days the Unit camped in the top room—
an arrangement which did not

seventy-five in one room
make for comfort, especially as work had to be carried
on at full pressure during those days; but every one bore
the discomfort cheerfully.

'** No patients arrived that night (Tuesday), but the
next morning the cars were ordered out, and at once the
wounded began to pour in. We bathed them all and
dressed most (but the first dressings were excellently done),
and had done four necessary operations by 3 o'clock the
next morning. We had taken in 102 patients, two of
whom died almost immediately, and we were full. The
cars had been running steadily both to the Hospital and
the station until after to, when Mrs, Haverfield ordered
the chauffeurs to bed, to. start again at 5 am. Miss
Henderson got no sleep that night, for she insisted on
seeing us to bed first and then the Transport off at 5.
We evacuated almost half our patients after forty-eight
hours’ rest and took in more, but we found 100 mattresses
in those two rooms too close for proper nursing, so
we reduced the number to 75, and decided to pitch
our camp for the personnel and take the upstairs floor
for the Hospital. Then Dr. Hartsoff (Head of the

' Dr. Inghs’ report,

S
lot say

ooking
-cupied
1 Serb

wasa
irtition
was a
r four
room.
:OmMm—
lid not
arried
e bore

ut the
ce the
ll and
lone),
+k the
WO of
The
and
dered
Miss
-d on
at &,
eight
esses
af SO
pitch
tloor

the

MEJIDIA 189

Russian Medical Department) asked me to take over
another small barrack, and I agreed on condition that
he gave me the mattresses. However, before that could
be accomplished, orders came in from the Serb Head-
quarters to send Hospital ‘B’ out to Bulbul Mic, so |
told Dr. Hartsoff we could not undertake more than
one barrack at Mejidia, but I promised 140 beds there,
including two rooms for officers.

“More than half our patients were Russians, We
had two Roumanians. It was very interesting to see
how the attitude of our patients altered as the days went
on. Our Serbs, as always, were grateful and trusting,
but the Russians could not at all understand the situa-
tion. They were very reluctant. to come into the
operating-room, and grumbled to the numerous officers
who came in and out. One of the officers, quite a boy,
sent for me and said brusquely that the men were not
getting enough food. | thought it time to stop it, so |
said quite firmly that there was ample food, and that I
should like him to remember that we were a Serb
hospital and that the diet was arranged on Serb lines;
that I was more than willing to take in Russian soldiers,
but if they did not like it they need not come. In quite
a different tone he said the Russian soldier always
wanted dasha, a kind of bean porridge. So I said if that
was the only difficulty, sasha they should have. |
remembered what Mrs. Kinnell" had said about tea, and
increased that in quantity. The Russian sisters in the
other barrack kindly allowed their cook to teach ours
how to make fasha, and I went down to the Russian
Headquarters and demanded asha. The dear little
Russian sister put her finger on another sore point :
‘They do not love Open windows,’ she said, ‘and they

eAuiceueroriils Si

R€u, vice-chairman of the London Committee of the Scottish
Women’s Hospitals.

Prveteatmainpenen osentgistieto ten ast 2

if
:
‘
§
f

sone

190 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

do not love to be so clean.’ On these two points we
were adamant, and it was very interesting to see how
human nature accommodated itself. Gradually the faces
began to smile, and the inquiring officers used to turn
to _us and say, ‘He says everything is good; the only
difficulty is the language.’ One boy who had his arm
amputated said, ‘It is so good here I am in no hurry
to go back to Russia.’ We got a Serb student to come
round twice a day and interpret for us, and then a Serb
who could speak English and Russian to be orderly in
the ward. He liked to be called ‘Chris,’ and had a
strenuous time, night and day, at everybody’s call. He
was most helpful and willing.”

The Transport had been attached to the 1st Serb
Hospital and had no easy time driving in a strange
country with the roads in such a terrible condition. Mrs.
Havertield’s description of their work gives a vivid
picture of the difficulties encountered. Two places,
Equibior and Bulbul Mare, from which they had to
bring patients, were about fifteen kilometres from
Mejidia station,

'* The road to Equibior was just a track across endless
plains after leaving the main road to Bulbul Mare. Here
the usual strugele began to get the cars through the
mud. We found the place all smoking and much
battered by shells. Wee tilled up with the wounded, two
in each car, and got them safely back.

* After a few days of this work we received the order
to pitch camp at Bulbul Mic, ten miles from Mejidia.
Here enemy aeroplanes visited us daily, dealing death
and destruction everywhere, but we all escaped injury.
The days were lovely and warm, but the nizhts were
very cold and damp.

“Suddenly wounded began to pour in, and we and

' Mrs. Haverticld’s report.

nts we

e how
ec faces
o turn
1¢ only
is arm
hurry
» come
a Serb
erly in
had a

; He

t Serb
trance
Mrs.
vivid
places,
iad to
from

‘ndless
Here
th the
much
d, two

- order
ejidia.

death
injury.
> were

ve and

MEJIDIA 191

the Hospital worked night and day. Things were not
going well at the front, and we were told we might have
to evacuate at any moment.

“There were a few cases of cholera, and we were
asked to keep an ambulance separate from the others in
order to take cases to the isolation hospitals. One of
the drivers (Ruth Plimsoll) had charge of the particular
ambulance, and drove a wounded officer all the Way to
Czernavoda, accompanied by the doctor. When they
arrived there the doctor went to find the right place to
deposit his patient—a long process, and meanwhile bombs
suddenly began to fall on all sides. Ruth Plimsoll
remained calmly on her seat, and when the doctor re-
turned and the car moved away a bomb fell in the exact
spot where the ambulance had been waiting, making a
large hole in the ground. The patient, in spite of his
pain, insisted on having Ruth Plimsoll’s name written
down, and told the doctor that if he lived he would see
she got a special decoration for the great courage she
had shown. Most of our drivers have been in the midst
of falling bombs whilst carrying wounded, especially to
the station, and all have shown the highest courage and
perfect calmness amidst frantic panic on the part of all
in the strect at the time.”

In response to the order from Serb I Teadquarters,
Dr. Chesney was sent to Bulbul Mic to form a Field
Hospital (Hospital B”), and the equipment was sent
out in charge of four orderlies. ‘* That was the first time
I realised,” wrote Dr. Inglis, “ what a first-rate Unit I
had. Although Bulbul Mic was only ten miles off they
took twenty-four hours to get there. They refused to
sleep in the passenger carriage provided for them for
fear the equipment waygon should be slipped, so they
camped in the waggon. I worried a good deal over
their having no food with them, when I heard they had

t92, SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

not arrived at Bulbul Mic, but they were fed by Serl
olficers, and arrived smiling, saying they ‘had had th
time of their lives !'"

Dr. Chesney found on arrival that what was wantec
was a clearing station that could be evacuated at ar
hour's notice, so alinost all her equipment was sent back
She made a beautiful little camp. All her transport wa:
arranged for by Dr. Stanovitch (medical director of the
Ist Serb Lazarette, to which she was attached). She
kept only ten of the Unit with her, including Mis:
Henderson (Administrator).

The work at Mejidia, with the exception of a few
days’ lull, went forward steadily from the 3rd of October
until the 22nd.

On the 19th the sound of the guns became both
more intense and continuous. The raids from enemy
aeroplanes over Mejidia averaged about three or four a
day, and there were several casualties. At one time a
falling bomb killed two soldiers in the courtyard of the
I lospital.

The tirst intimation that all was not going well at the
front was the news that Dr. Chesney had left Bulbul
Mic and fallen back about ei¢ht miles, half-way to
Mejidia. Phen came orders from Colonel Hadjitch, by
a special dispatch rider, to remove the bulk. of the
equipment of the Scottish Women's Hospitals, and
to keep only what was necessary to carry on the
Hospital at Mejidia.

From the Russian fleadquarters Dr. Inglis had the
disquieting information that she must not count on a
train for taking the cquipment. What was to be done?
Forty-five tons of equipment could not be taken by three
lorries, Dr. Inglis, never recoynising such a word as
impossible, went to the Commandant at the railway

Station and cxplained how precious the equipment was

‘S

» Serb
had the

wanted
l at an
it back,
ort was
r of the
. She
gy Miss

a few
Yctober

e both
enemy
four a
time a

of the

at the
Bulbul
yay to
ich, by
of the
$s, and
yn the

ad the
on a
done?
‘three
ord as
ulway
iC Was

MEJIDIA 193

and what its delay and probable loss would entail.
Three wagons were then supplied at 1 p-m., the
equipment was packed, and by 3 am. the camp was
struck,

While waiting for their train to leave, Miss Bowerman
and Miss Brown, who were seated on the platform, saw
to their consternation the wagons and the precious
equ oment disappearing with a refugee train. Ina flash
they were on their feet and in full Hight after the train,
which they triumphantly boarded. The wagons, how-
ever, were shunted again and again and repeatedly held
up, until these resourceful women hit upon the expedient
of writing telegrams to British Consuls, which they
never intended to send, and inventing a General
Popovitch who, they said, would be very angry
indeed if the equipment did not get through quickly.
This bluff was perfectly successful, so much so. that
they began to wonder whether a General Popovitch
really did exist.

The whole of the Unit went to Galatz in charge of
Dr. Corbett. Dr. Inglis only kept what was absolutely
necessary to carry on the Hospital or any other she
might have to form, seventeen persons in all.

‘The scation was a curious sight that night. The
fight was beginning. A crowd of people was collected
at one end with boxe: and bundles and children. One
little boy was lying on a doorstep asleep, and against the
wall, farther on, lay a row of soldiers. On the bench to
the right, under the livht, was a doctor in his white
overall, stretched out) sound asleep between the two
rushes of work at the station d sssing-room ; and a
Roumanian officer talked to me of Glasgow, where he
had once been invited out to dinner—so he had seen the

British ‘custims.’ It was good to feel those British

‘Dr. Inglis’ report.

2
13

194 SCOTTISIE WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

customs were still going quietly on, whatever w
happening here —breakfasts coming regularly, = h
water for baths, and everything as it should be. It w
probably absurd, but it came like a great wave of cor
fort to feel that Britain was. there, quiet, strong, ar
invincible, behind everything and everybody.”

RUSSTA

ver was i

rly, hot

It was |
-of com-

ong, and 7 (

F |
;
fi a ‘
q 5
ny :
H , iq
4 2
¥ i ~
sof
ee Supa oar
yy 7
re zr
A
BAA ont bog
Potonats mrm =
=f
+7
we
we Seserestns SOUTH RUSSIA
ROL MANIA

{haere Se es

MAP ot DopruUDTA. F
3

Diawe by Miss Vera Hf for ts \. A
t?

CHAPTER I]
THE RETREAT FROM THE DOBRUDJA

SN Sunday morning, October the 22nd, Mejidia was
practically deserted, except for Dr. Inglis and
her party ; the Russian hospital had slipped away quietly
without any notice to. Dr. Inglis of their departure, and
scarcely a chimney smoked in the town. The stillness
was broken only by the booming of the guns, sounding
very near, Dr. Kostich brought the order at 10am, to
evacuate immediately, Every car that could be spared
had been sent to Mrs, Haverfield for the wounded, and
there remained the Staff car, one ambulance, and a lorry
lent by a young Russian officer. The Party set out on
their journey that afternoon,

“As far as Carlos Premier the run might have been
ano dinary one through any country with second-rate
roads, at any time. When we turned eastward at Carlos
Premier we met the whole stream of refugees from Con-
stanza and the south. One reads of refugees but never
could imavine such a sight. The whole road was one
continuous stream: of carts loaded Up with luggave on
waich were childr yo men and women tramped along
beside them, every now and again there was a revular
cart with boards stretched ecross Measuring from 16 to
'2 feet, piled up with household goods—they filled the
Whole roadway. Against. this stream we tried to go,
and through it barged cannon and ammunition wagons,
and sqiuidrons of cavalry, Loose foals and dogs ran
about everywhere, and when we turned on our headlights

Dr. Ings? report
ty

fog Peet Mel

en inthaisinisid at ee
Boor See

if
iF
¥
jé
i
i
i
ita

rstepsiaemnatsieaes

196 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

the whole thing became unreal—seemed like a wel
staged piece at the theatre. At one point we came on.
flock of sheep, and for a minute we saw only red light
reflected from ours in their eyes—no sheep at all, on
foal got quite mesmerised by our lights and dancec
about in front of them. Suddenly another car loomec
out of the darkness, and there were two of our Transpor
girls, Eventually we got into Caromarat, where a roon
was found for us by a Serb officer.”

They all slept very soundly that night on the straw.
covered floor, and were joined next morning by Mrs
Haverfield, Miss Henderson, and the rest. of the
Transport.

The party of seven who had become separated from
Dr. Inglis on leaving Mejidia landed at Saragea, where
they were hospitably cared for by the Russian Head
quarters. They sent a message to Dr. Inglis to Say
they were safe, but completely stranded, as the borrowed
Russian lorry had taken its departure. Dr. Inglis went
over to their rescue and found them in the verandah of
an inn, seated on the equipment, smiling,

“T thought,” wrote Dr. Inglis, “that there micht be
something in what a Russian woman said to me apropos
of the great cheerfulness of the Unit: ‘There is cer
tainly something greacin the British character which the
continental nations do not possess.” And when Tr plied,
‘LT don't know, we all have our strong points and our

weak ones, she said, * There is ne other mation Qoes
inte trouble smiling,

Hospital" .° with the rst Serb Lazarette, had been
hard ar work Jealing with a constant stream of wounded

)

ut 16 | Mic when the order came on 20th © tober

flor them te tall back to a little village cight miles to the

rear, All the wounded had then been sent to Meqidia.
The next dav (2ist October), at 5 p.m., they started off.
el }

a well-
me ona
d lights
ul; one
danced
loomed
ansport
a room

» Straw-
y Mrs.
of the

d from
where
Head
to say
rrowed
S Went
dah of

cht be
IFOpPos
iS cer
ch the
plied,
ad our

roe

Mmacad
tober
£3) the

Hid
d oft,

RETREAT FROM THE DOBRUDJA 197

a party of ten, cach perched on the top of a pile of

equipment in the wagons provided for them by the
ist Serb Hospital, then destination unknown. On the
23rd they came across Dr. Inglis in the d: irkness, seated
in her car, where she was waiting for the light of morn-
ing to proceed on her wi i. There was a halt of five
minutes, and then they pushed on once more, re aching
Harsova the next day. There they heard that Me jidia
and Czernavoda had fallen, and that no defence coul] be
made. Dr. Stanovitch came to see Dr. ¢ Chesney and
said the position wits very serious, He had lost his

Statt and had neo Instructions what to ror where to OO,

It was impossible to cross the Danube at ilarsova, as
all the barves were crowded with troops VDore OVEF he
had no knowledge of the countey or the road Wand could
only advise 2 y, Chesney to follow the stream of the
retreat with the hope of finding a pontoon bridge at

Isakeca. He also gave them the uncomfortable ntelli-
gence that, as far as he knew. there was eve ry possibility
of the Bulears swo pine down sees them atany moment,
as there were no troops between them and the Bulours,
The trek was resumed. progress betag, on an average,
about three miles an hour, never more. Fortunately
Dr. Stanovitch’s advice proved to be sound. for they
arrived at Isakcea, found the pontoon brideve, and reached
Isinail at 3 pm. on the 3rd of November, after ten d: Vs
of continuous trekking and ¢: amping in the open.

Some of the Transport’s experiences in this. first
retreat are ene ina report from Mrs. Havertield :
“From Bulbul Mic we moved to Bulbul Mare, and after
one meht were ordered to Alac: ap. We did not cet
away till about 1o pm, as the ambulances were busy
between Bulbul Mare and Me} jidia. The road was so
crammed with retre ating troops and we “ury animals that

iL Was impossible to get through with the wounded, so

id
bd
8

i988 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

when the last ambulance came in we made a start |
Alacap. Meanwhile th rain poured down, making
impossible to use the field track I had hoped to take
order to catch up the I lospital carts (1st Serb Hospiti
that had vone on some hours before. We made f
Mejidia, from whence | was told there was a good roa
—a fallacy, as usual,—and. after sticking in the mu
decided to wait till dawn Phere was the same o
mud track up hilland down dile. oy er which we push
and pulled ambulances and lorries the whole day, till v
reached Alacap Where we found Dr. Chesney and tl
Ist Serb Hospital. Here we fondly hoped for foo
and rest. We were told to vet ambulances ready ti
wounded and to prepare a meal. Before we had tim
fo eat it we were ordered off again, ... ; Streams <
troops, refugces, Wasons, guns, and animals of all kind
were trailing alony all day. and, as darkness fell, all con
verged on Caromarat. The streets or, rather, mudd:
lanes between the houses soon became one ma
terrified humanity, screamin Serving, and cursine » cay
and scared animals added to the noise —« enes of t
and despair never to be forgotten. We remained in the
mud till 2 am., when a start was made. At th rn
ot four cross-roads | found our lorries and Dr, Tnol
We remained in the mud till 2 a.m., when oft We wes
mce more,”

Dr. Inelis, after seeing her seven off from Say
to Harsova en ronte to Galatz, spent two day:
nicht in pursuit of her Sert Lazarette
raptd changes in the orders it received as to its
tion, back of petrol at lenuth oc, mp ilee|
for biarsey ti. where she Was asked ty |) {
(Head of the Ri mantan Medical Sery; a
charce OF a cre SSING Station on the Wihart, her

Worked and set up a feeding-station, but it Was only

start for
vaking it
0 take in
Hospital)
nade for
od road,
he mud,
ame old
' pushed
y. till we
and the
for food
addy for
lad time
eins of
H kinds
all con-

miuldy

RETREAT FROM THE DOBRUDJIA — 199

aday. Dr. Costinesco came down in the evening and
said she must go. They left by boat for Galatz the
same night, and not too soon, for the next morning
Harsova was shelled by the enemy. The Transport
went with the 1st Division of the Serb Army, which had
withdrawn from action, to Ismail.

Inthe following letter to the London Committee, Dr,
Inglis pays tribute to her Unit's work: “In case this
arrives before my report, I should like to say first that
the Committee may be thoroughly satisticd with the
work done and the spirit displayed by almost every
member of the Unit. They worked magnificently at
Mejidia and took the retreat ina very joyous indomitable
way. One cannot say they were plucky, because I don't
think it ever entered their heads to be afraid. In the
middle of a panic, when people were actually running
along the road and throwing things off the carts. to
lighten them, and men with their rifles and bayonets were
actually climbing on to our Red Cross carts to save a
few minutes, our girls in that particular party were picking
up the thrown-away vegetables and things they wanted.
The last five days at Mejidia, when we were bombed
by aeroplanes every day, they did not even stop their
work to go and look.”

On 30th December the following communication was
received by the London Committee from the Secretary
of the Admiralty :

“Mapam,—I am commanded by the Lords Com-
missioners of the Admiralty to acquaint you that a report
has been received from an officer of the Royal Navy
who visited certain ports of the Danube in October last
(1916), which contains the following remarks on the
Scottish Women’s Hospital at Braila :

‘A camp of the Scottish Women’s Hospital! was

200 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

here (at Braila, 28th October), having retreated from
Mejidia, where they were nearly forgotten and left
behind.

“*He (General Zaioutchowsky), like every one else,
had nothing but praise for the Scottish Women's
Hospital, whose motor ambulances were the first thing
to be noticed on landing at Braila. They have all lost
their kits in the retreat.'—I am, Madam, your obedient
servant, J. W.S. Axperson

(FOR SECRETARY),”

After the withdrawal of the Serb Division and the
Hospitals from the Dobrudja, Dr, Inglis was asked by
the Russian Red Cross to work with them, which she
agreed to do, with the concurrence of the Serbs, who
told her that the best work she could do for them was
to help the Russians while the Serb Division was resting,
The Transport was therefore attached to the 3rd Russian
Division, and on the 30th of November sent once more
into the Dobrudja at Babadagh, half-way between Tulcea
on the Danube and the first Ru ian dressing-station at
Cogealak. The cars ran between Covealak and other
villages, picking up the Wounded from. the clearing
Stations and field hospitals and taking them to the
hospital at Babadagh. Mrs, Havertield found that the
Russian ambulances, which were supposed to take the
wounded on from Babadach to Tulcea, either ignored
the orders to come in with their ambulances or delayed
so long that they could never be relicd on for effective
help, so she stationed six of her cars at Covealak and
Six at Babadagh, the first six plying between Covealak
and Babadagh, and the other between Babadagh and
Tulcea, Sometimes the cars would travel the whole
distance from Cogealak to Tulcea, about fifty mules,
“On one occasion,” writes Miss Onslow (second Trans.

{ from
id left

e else,

ymen's
thing

il] lost
edient
IN

more
aleea
Nn at
other
ring
the
the
the
pred
ved
lve
and
lak
and
Vole
les,
ns-

RETREAT FROM THE DOBRUDJA 20;

port officer), ‘a wounded Russian soldier was being put
into the ambulance, and asked the little Russian Sister
if it really was a motor-car, and would not be satisfied
until she got out to look. He knew, poor fellow, that
it took two days in a horse ambulance while a
motor took only a few hours and saved him much
pain.”

On the 13th of December the Transport was ordered
to leave Cogealak and to remove all the patients from the
dressing-station and take them to Tulcea. The following
account of this experience of the second Dobrudja retreat
is given by Miss Onslow: “After two days in Tulcea
we were ordered to report at a hospital at Enichioi, a
village half-way back to Babadagh. On arrival, no
hospital was to be seen or even heard of. So we set
off in the dark and mud to find quarters, the best
accommodation available being a canteen by the roadside.
The next morning we tried to get back to Babadagh,
but found it impossible, as the Russian Army was in
full and hasty retreat. The road, white, and stretching
across the plain as far as the eye could see, appeared
to carry an ever-moving ribbon along its surface. On
turning back we met a messenger sent to recall us to
Tulcea, where the whole transport column was urgently
necded to evacuate all the hospitals there on to barges.
We all worked hard, as every patient had to be moved
no matter how ill he might be. Some were so bad they
died before reaching the wharf. The accommodation on
the barge was so pitifully inadequate for the large
number of patients who were packed so tightly tovether,
that one could not feel SOrry for those who lied before
reaching the barves.”

The work done at Tuk ea received high praise from
the Russian authorities, who si ntin a report of it to Dr

}
}

Inglis at Galatz. The J ransport returned a third time

202, SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

into the Dobrudja, picking up wounded and evacuating
hospitals in isolated parts of the hills, going to and fr
under endless difficulties and not without risk of falling
into enemy hands, as the Bulgars were in close pursuit.
'* We evacuated as many as we could take, but in com.
parison with the total it was a mere handful—men with
the dirt and blood still on them as they had come in,
My car was crowded with about ten or twelve, piled in
anyhow, and how | pitied the rest, limping, weary,
crawling despairingly the ten miles to Isakcea.”

On the afternoon of Christmas Day the Transport
finally arrived at Bulgrad, after three weeks of work
and wanderings in the Dobrudja.

' Miss Onslow’s report.

cuating
and fro
falling
pursuit.
nN com-
n with
me in.
iled in
weary,

sport
work

CHAPTER III
BRAILA, GALATZ, AND RENI

HEN Dr. Inglis left Harsova it was on the
\ understanding that she and her Staff were to
move to Galatz, but owing to the bridze of boats on the
Danube being closed they were disembarked at Braila.
Perhaps at no time in the history of the hospitals had
there been such a heavy task before the Scottish Women.
Braila was one vast dumping-ground for the wounded,
who poured in every day ; and there were no adequate
hospitals. Cafés and public buildings were requisitioned,
and the wounded made as comfortable as circumstances
permitted, but as there were only seven trained doctors
in the town before Dr. Inglis’ arrival, and already some
11,000 wounded, it was an almost hopeless task. As
one of the orderlies wrote in her diary : “ Here an end-
less flow of wounded. We have put some of the beds
together and the men three in two beds, but even then
had not enough room. You see groups of hungry,
weary men crowding the pavement before every hospital.”
Dr. Inglis’ report shows that the work was also compli-
cated by other difficulties. “We arrived here on 25th
October We went. straight into. the hospital the
evening we arrived, and helped at the dressings. The
NeXt mornin E We (Were asked to take over another
hospital. Seeing the great need, I Instantly agreed.
The work has been quite satisfactory, and every body—
doctors, Sisters, and orderlies—has worked splendidly,
Besides the work in the big hospital we had a house on

4
203

204 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

the opposite side of the road for slight cases where there
were No operations—only dressings—and we had charge
there.

“The authorities gave us a very comfortable house,
just round the corner, with electric light; and those of
us who could not find room here slept in the British
Consulate, which is empty.”

The work went on at Braila until the beginning of
December, and the Hospital Staff were workiny at high
pressure throughout their stay there. On December the
3rd came the news of a move “to forma large dressing
Station near the front. . . Some French Sisters are
taking our places here, . . When I went to say good.
bye to the patients they all touched their foreheads with
the back of my hand and then kissed my hand. Several
of them assembled on the stairs and vave three cheers
for England and the English Sisters,”

Some of the extracts from letters and reports show
that the Staft of the Scottish Women were watched with
great interest, while their capacity tor work called forth
every one’s admiration.“ Now at last [ see th it women
can work,” said an anti-feminist. Russ in officer who
Inspected the Hospital. More qualified was the praise
given by some of the patients, © The Russian Sisters are
pretty, but they are not yood ; the English Sisters are
good, but they are not pretty.” Their clothes, too,
were a scurce of interest. Dr. Inglis comments on
the IMpression made by their workmanlike rubber boots,
which were found so useful in the winter mud.

“We have made friends with many Roumanian
women, both in our own hospitals and others. One of
them said what they loved about us was our ‘simplicity.’
We wondered what ‘simplicity’ could mean, and Dr.
Corbett sugvested it must be our do0/s! There is no

The term “Sister” js tpplied to all nurses in Russia.

‘e there
charge

house,
lose of
British

ing of
it high
ver the
‘ssing
rs are
vood.-
S with
‘veral
cheers

show
with
forth
wen
who
raise
are
Faire:
too,
5 on

OLS,

nian
e of
ity.’
Dr.

BRAILA. GALATZ, AND RENI 205

doubt our boots have made a great impression. We
hear of them on all sides!”

The attempt to form a dressing-station ‘nearer the
front” resulted in a further week’s wanderings.

Eventually the party reached Galatz in safety and
took up work there. ‘* So ended my third and I sincerely
hope my last retreat,” wrote Dr. Inglis. ‘ We thought
we should have to go right back into Russia, but orders
arrived this morning, to our vreat joy, to say we are
to stay here. The Consul says it is the worst news he
has had yet, for IT am such a bird of ill-omen that he
knows that the moment the equipment is unpacked and
the Hospital arranged the whole town will be evacuated !
But I tell him things always go in threes, and that
therefore retreats are done with.

“We were given a building—a school near the Port”

her report continues" which was in many ways satis-
factory, as most of the wounded were being brought up
by a barge. The building: itself made quite a good
hospital for roo beds, leaving room for a good receiving-
room and = bathrooni, a room for dressings, and an
operating-room, The rooms were quite nice and
wonderfully clean, and it proved a most satisfactory
and necessary arrangement having the mess-room in the
Hospital, as we were able to get meals whenever we
Were [6s

“Phe wounded were pouring through Galatz at the
rate ot about one thowsand a day, and we got practically
nothing but bad cases at our Hospital. Dr. Potter has a
story that she gave orders for any cases that could
walk to come down to the dressing-room, and a few
minutes atterwards the doo. was burst open and a man
crawled in on all-fours; that was the nearest we could
get to a walkiny-case !

“The night we opened we got 109 cases. We bathed

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206 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

and dressed them all, and began operuting the next
afternoon at one o'clock, and then went on without a
break until five o'clock the following morning. We owe
a great debt of gratitude to Mr. Scott, Surgeon to the
British Armoured Car Corps, who met one of the girls
and asked whether he could be of any use. I[ sent back
a message at once that we should be most grateful, and
he worked with us without a break until we evacuated.
He is a first-class surgeon, and it was a creat thing to
have him there. The cases stayed in a very short time,
and we evacuated again down to the barges going to
Reni, the Hospital filling up, and more than filling up,
each time. We had eventually to lay down one room
entirely with straw, where we simply put the men in
their uniforms after dressiny them, and the more serious
cases we gradually moved from there to mattresses,
Commander Gregory of the British Armoured Car Corps
sent down a message to us that ‘in the last resort he
would see us out’; so we were able to work on with
quiet minds. M. Ileachenko, our Chief (Chef de la
Croix Rouge Russe avec l’Armée sur le Danube), left
me with a written order to Stay in Galatz to the ‘last
moment,’ and then to go to Foltesti.

“On Thursday, 4th January, the evacuation officer
ordered us to evacuate the Hospital. . . . I told him our
orders were to stay until the ‘last moment,’ and he
said that the ‘last moment’ had come. He arranved
to send ambulances for the patients at eight o’clock the
next morning, and we went up to the station to arrange
for wagons to take us to Foltesti. We found, however.
that the line to Foltesti was absolutely blocked, and we
could neither get there direct nor by going round by
Jassi, for the line was blocked northwards. M. Heachenko
had gone to inspect a hospital along the Jassi line, and
no one in the office could give me any instructions,

next
out a
e owe
to the
girls
back
, and
ated.
Ne to
time,
ig to
5 Up,
oom

n in
10US
SSeS,
orps
t he
with

e la

left

last

.
3
4

BRAILA, GALATZ, AND RENI 207

While I was there, debating what to do, Commander
Gregory sent down a message to say that he would take
us all over to Reni in a barge which had been given him
for his corps. We therefore cleared out all the equip-
ment on Thursday afternoon, and the personnel went
that night, except four who stayed to evacuate the
Hospital the following morning. The Committee will
not be surprised to hear that at least half the Staff came
and asked for leave to stay; in fact, one said she
thought the whole twenty-two ought to stay. Late that
evening, when I went down to the barge to see how the
loading was getting on, Mr. Scott came up with a fresh
message from Commander Gregory that he did not wish
any of us to stay. However, it was obviously impossible
to leave the Hospital, which at that moment contained
sixty-six cases—every one of them bad cases—and |
assured Mr. Scott that we would find our way out. As
a matter of fact, this was not necessary, for another barge
belonging to the Armoured Car Corps went next day
and we came off in it.

“I have so often said to the Committee that the Unit
works splendidly, that I am afraid they will be rather
tired of the phrase. But I cannot possibly allow the
work which was done at Galatz to pass without special
mention of the magnificent way in which everybody
worked. Nobody was off duty ; the night nurses stayed
on until they went to bed, and the day nurses stayed on
for most of each night. Most of us got only two or
three hours’ sleep each night. Dr. Scott pointed out to
me that we operated thirty-six hours on end the first
day, with three hours’ break in the early hours of the
morning—and as we had been working twenty-four hours
before that—admitting, bathing, and dressing—you can
imagine what a time we had. Dr. Corbett has also been
calculating, and she says we worked sixty-five hours on

fi
;
iH

208 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

end with two breaks of three hours’ sleep! We cam
out of it very fit—thanks to the kitchen Staff, who hac
food constantly ready from early morning till late a
night.”

Reni, which was to be the home of Hospital “A” fo,
the next eight months, proved a dreary and cold spot
during the winter. “This is on the banks of the
Danube, windswept stretches of bare, undulating ground,
a station and barge vort,” wrote the matron. “On the
north, half a mile away, a queer old-world town, and to
the south railway lines, wi.ere there is nothing but
barracks.”

One of the Unit described the new quarters in a
letter. “Our Hospital is a ore-storeyed building, light
and airy, built of wood. We are living in a pagoda-like
house, quite nice, and we have the most lovely views
across the Danube, and to the hills beyond. The guns
were very loud and near during the fine w sather, but we
have not heard them since the cold began,” Though
the Staff quarters were only a short distance from the
Hospital the severe weather sometimes made the journey
between the two buildings one of considerable difficulty,”
Dr. Inglis wrote: “One snowstorm nearly cut the
house off from the Hospital owing to the great drifts
between. I wish we could have got for you a photo-
graph of the Staff struggling over to Roll Call in the
morning in their top boots, short skirts, and peaked
barliks (hooded capes) over their heads, The Danube
has been frozen over, and the carts for the wood crossed
ever onthe ice. ‘That is another photograph I wish |
could have got: streams of men carrying wood across
the river. They say that it has not been frozen for
seven years.” The freezing of the Danube was, however,
considered a happy circumstance by many of the Staff
Owing to the inadequacy of the weil, they had hitherto

‘S

Te came
vho had

late at

A” for
ld spot
of the
rround,
On the
and to
ig but

sina
. light
la-like
views
guns
ut we
ough
n the
urney
ulty,”
the
drifts
hoto-
1 the
aked
nube
ssed
sh I
TOSS
for
ver,
taff.
Erto

BRAILA, GALATZ, AND RENI 209

used Danube water for culinary purposes. ‘We have
our tea made with boiled snow now; it is much cleaner
than Danube water, and tastes nicer,” wrote one of
the Sisters. And an extract from an orderly’s diary is
even more explicit: ‘It (ze. the Danube water) is the
same colour as tea, only it is opaque instead of clear,
and by now we know our Danube too well to enjoy
drinking it. Soup made with it looks lovely, so nice
and thick.”

Dr. Inglis felt that the Hospital was fulfilling its
purpose, as a quotation from one of the reports shows :
“ The work we are doing is to take in the badly wounded
men from the Evacuation Hospital. (All the rest are
sent on in ambulance trains.) It is work we are
especially fitted for, with our well-equipped theatre and
our highly trained nurses, and the Committee may, I
think, feel satisfied that that Hospital is in a very useful
niche for the moment.” But in spite of this, she was
anxiously awaiting an opportunity to rejoin the Serbs,
for whom she had originally been sent out. Early
in February, therefore, she went up to Odessa to see
what the future of her own division was to be. But the
visit proved clearly that at present the Serbs did not
need her Hospital. They impressed on Dr. Inglis the
fact that she could best help them for the moment by
helping the Russians, and she theretore returned to
Reni and carried on the work there, an “ Act” having
been signed by the Russians that they would at once
release the Staff whenever the Serbs required their
services.

U-der this arrangement, Dr. Inglis was still working
in Reni when the Russian revolution broke out in
March. The spirit of unrest and indiscipline, which
manifested itself among the troops, spread also to the
hospitals, and a Russian doctor reported that in the

210 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

other hospitals the patients had their own Committe
which fixed the hours for meals and doctors’ visits ar
made hospital discipline impossible. But there was r
sign of this under Dr. Inglis’ kindly but firm rul.
Without relaxing disciplinary measures, she did all j
her power to keep the patients happy and contented
and as the Russian Easter drew near, she bought fou
tkons to be put up in the wards, that the men might fee
more at home. The result of this kindly thought was
charming Easter letter written by the patients to the—

‘Much-honoured Elsie Maud, the daughter of John
The wounded and sick soldiers from all parts of the
army and fleet of great free Russia, who are now fo,
healing in the Hospital which you command, penetratec
with a feeling of sincere respect, feel it their much.
desired duty, to-day, on the day of the feast of Holy
Easter, to express to you our deep reverence to you, the
doctor warmly loved by all, and also to your honoured
personnel of women. We wish also to express our
sincere gratitude for all the care and attention bestowed
on us, and we bow low before the tireless and wonderful
work of yourself and your personnel, which we see every
day directed towards the good of the soldiers allied to
your country, . . . May England live.

“(Sgd.) Tue Russtan Citizen Soupirrs,”

In consequence of the revolution there was a
constant changing of troops in the neighbourhood, and
it was this, combined with the ‘“spy-fever” which had
broken out all along the front, that led to a highly
disagreeable incident. The curious form in which the
Staff quarters were built made the building a centre of
interest to a newly arrived regiment, and some one spread
the report that signalling was taking place from the

LS BRAILA, GALATZ, AND RENI 211

mmittees turret-window of the dispenser’s room. Miss Murphy

Isits and was therefore arrested as a spy, and as Dr. Inglis

» was no insisted on accompanying her—since no affirmations of

rm rule. the girl’s innocence availed—they both spent the nicht

d all in as prisoners. Much to their indignation, they were not

itented ; set free until the Unit had signed a paper, * guarantecing

xht four the fidelity " of Miss Murphy. Dr. Inglis had meanwhile

ight feel managed to get word of the arrest through to General ?

It was a Kronpensky, the Red Cross Commissioner, who came up

o the— at once from Galatz to put matters right. General Hi
Zourikoff, General in Command of the army to which uf

of John. the regiment belonged, wired at once:

of the

10W for “Please accept and convey to Sister Murphy the

letrated expression of my heartiest regret at her arrest, she being

much- | one of a Unit of the best workers of the British nation. —-

f Holy | ZOURIKOFFY.”

ou, the i

noured | Dr. Inglis’ reply showed that she was determined |

SS Our | that the incident should be forgotten. “I desire to

stowed | express in my own name, in Sister Murphy’s, and in :

nderful that of the Sisters of the Scottish Women’s Hospital i

> every our heartfelt thanks for your telegram, and for the kind re

lied to thought that prompted it. It will always be a proud
memory to us that we were able to work with the great a

= Russian nation in that war in which our two countries ‘|
are allied.” ;

was a After the excitement of the spy incident had died a

d, and away, time went by uneventfully, and since there was

h had little active fighting there was also a lull in the work.

highly In fact, nothing of interest was reported during the

+h the early summer except the reception of two patients from

tre of the British Armoured Car Section, which gave the

pread Scottish Women the joy of nursing their own country-

no the j men. i

212, SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

While Hospital “A” was stationed at Reni, the second
detachment of the London Units, Hospital * B” had also
filled a great need on the Roumanian front. It had left
Odessa in March and was attached to the Russian
Division at Tecuci, a small town in Roumania about ten
miles behind the line. They were given a field to camp
in, and a house, which had been used as a Russian and
Roumanian hospital, and was indescribably dirty. They
set to work and whitewashed and cleaned it, chietly with
their own hands. The hospital consisted of four wards,
with ten beds in each ward, a theatre, dispensary, and
dressing-room. They had surgical cases, nainly bombing
accidents from aeroplanes, as there were constant raids
from enemy aircraft. The first week in July, Hospital
‘B” moved forward, right up to the front to Varnitza, a
small hamlet in a valley of the Carpathians. Here they
were told by the Russians that there was to be a great
advance, and Dr. Chesney put up hospital tents for the
patients, and for the Staff, consisting of two doctors, two
sisters, X-ray assistant, matron, an interpreter, and three
orderlies.

“We were surrounded by Russian big guns,” wrote
a member of the Staff. “The enemy being entrenched
on a slope of the Carpathians commanding our valley, we
were told that the valley would be shelled and that we
must make dug-outs. This it was quite impossible to
do, as we had neither enough time nor men. The noise
of the guns was deafening. Soon after our arrival the
Russians succeeded in driving the enemy out of their
position and forced them back some distance. After

hill—the shells used to burst in the river bed. At length

second
id also
ad left
ussian
ut ten
camp
in and
They
y with
wards,
y, and
mbing
raids
\spital
Itza, a
> they
great
or the
s, two
three

Wrote
nched
oy, we
at we
ble to
noise
il the
their
After
again
nicht.
were
f the

ene til

BRAILA, GALATZ, AND RENI 213

it became obvious that the Russians would not fight, and
as the shelling became more violent the Russian General
said we must yo.

“We had to travel by night, the roads being shelled
by day, until we reached Tecuci; there we rested for a
couple of days and resumed our journey by night to
Reni, where we joined Dr. Inglis.”

As the summer progressed it became evident that
the whole Unit would shortly be rejoining the Serbs ;
but this was not to happen without one further rush of
work, brought about by Kerensky’s gallant effort to pro-
mote a sustained offensive all along the Russo-Roumanian
front. For a few weeks there was heavy fighting, and
Reni was once more a great hospital centre. When the
ru ‘ook place, Dr. Inglis was absent in Odessa nego-

ung with the authorities about rejoining the Serbs ;
jut Dr. Laird took charge and organized the Hespital
to meet the greatly increased number of patients so
well that the work suffered little by the absence of
the Chief.

Despite the revolution the Hospital had managed to
work smoothly, and, except for the one untoward incident,
relations with the Russians both before and after the
great upheaval had been friendly and sympathetic.
Every one appreciated the work done, and much regret
was expressed at the departure of the “ English Sisters ”
from Reni.

}
j
ae

CHAPTER IV

BACK WITH THE SERB DIVISION
SEPTEMBER To November 1917

“7 HE letters and reports received from Dr. Inglis

during the last months of the Unit's work in
Russia, though necessarily brief and guarded in their
expression, reflected the anxiety she felt with regard to
their future work with the Serbs.

The chaotic condition of affairs in Russia, and the
disorganization of the Russian Army consequent on the
revolution, had convinced the Serb Command that if
fighting were renewed there could be no hope of an
ctlective stand being made by the Kussians, and the
only result of the Serbs going into action would be to
expose themselves to another disaster such as they had
experienced in the Dobrudja.

“The men want to fight,” said General Zivcovitch
to Dr. Inglis ; “ they are not cowards, but it goes to my
heart to send them like this to their death.”

Dr. Inglis had had ample evidence herself of the
demoralised condition of the Russian soldiers, and hed
every reason for fearing that the Serbs would be
sacrificed uselessly, “They are such a fine body of
men,” she wrote, “and are alxious to go to some other
front to fight where they can rely on support.”

Early in July there seemed every possibility of their

heing allowed to leave Russia for Salonika, but on the

é
a4

nelis
k in
their
za to

the
| the
at if
an
the
ce £0

had

itch
my

the
hed
be

of
her

leir

the

Miss BF.

FRANCES ROBINSON.

ppbiisiicnd ats adadttbecsy,

BACK WITH THE SERB DIVISION = a15

26th the Russian Headquarters definitely stated that
they needed the Serbs on the Roumanian front. On
hearing this, Dr. Inglis instantly sought the intervention
of the British authorities at home for obtaining permission
from the Russian Government to have the Serbs trans-
ferred to another front. The Serb Staff was powerless
in the matter and entirely dependent on the good
offices of the British Government for effecting their
release.

“T am up here,” wrote Dr. Inglis, in July, from
Odessa, “to see what I can do to get this miserable
tangle undone. They want the division to go to the
front ‘to encourage the Russians.’ ”

Unfortunately, many more efforts had to be made by
Dr. Inglis before the “tangle” was finally undone. The
negotiations between the Russian, Serb, and Roumanian
Commands (the latter being more unwilling even than
the Russians to let the Serbs go) went dragging on for
months—months of anxiety and uncertainty, aggravated
by continual disappointment, as the orders to leave
Russia would often be contradicted the next day.

It was at this juncture that Dr. Inglis conceived the
plan of conveying to the home authorities some account
of the real state of affairs, and at her suggestion Dr.
Jambrishak (Member of the Jugo-Slav Committee),
then in Odessa, drew up a report of the political situa-
tion as it affected the Serbs. This report was given
to Miss Robinson and Miss Holme, members of the
Transport, who were returning to England.

To carry away any written document, especially of
such a confidential nature, was, however, impossible, so
Miss Robinson committed it all, some 2500 words, to
memory. On a small piece of paper about an inch
square the headings of the report were written out and
secreted by Miss Holme in a needle-case. In this

a
res

aang

oe
eas

2 wate

216 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

manner a detailed account of the position of the Serbs
was conveyed from Russia.

Dr. Inglis also sent a message to the Foreign Office
through Sir George Buchanan, British Ambassador at
Petrograd, to the following effect :

Dr. Inglis informed the Foreign Office that orders
had been received from the 1st Serbian Division not to
proceed to Archangel, but to go to the Roumanian front.
This change was made at te urgent request of the
Russian General, the reason given being that the
Russian troops required stiffening by the Serbians, Dr.
Inglis expressed the opinion that it would be sacrificing
the Serbian Division to send them into action, as the
Russians were completely disc..anized. Most of the
wounded Russians in her Hospital had self-inflicted
wounds in the left hand. It would require several army
corps io stiffen the Russians. The present condition of
the Serbians was deplorable, and in the coming winter
the question of supplying them with food and fuel
would be a very serious one. In any event, the
Scottish Women's Hospitals would stand by the Serbian
Division, and would accompany them if they went to
the Roumanian front.

Lord Robert Cecil, Under-Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, replied through Sir George Buchanan that he
would do what he could to Carry out the wishes of Dr.
Inglis, but the final decision must rest with the War
Office.

At the end of the month of August the Unit
rejoined the Serb Division at Hadji-Abdul, a little
village midway between Reni and Bulgrad.

Dr. Inglis described it as a “lovely place . . . and
we have a perfectly lovely camping-ground among the
trees. The division is hidden away wonderfully under
the trees, and at first they were very loath to let us pitch

Serbs

Office

lor at

orders
10t to
front.
f the
- the

Dr.
ficing
s the
f the
licted
army
on of
‘inter

fuel

the
rbian
nt to

reion
it_ he
Dr.
War

Unit
little

and
the
nder
itch

BACK WITH THE SERB DIVISION 217

our big tents, that could not be so thoroughly hidden, i
but I was quite bent on letting them see what a nice '
hospital you had sent out, so I managed to get it pitched, iH
and they are so pleased with us. They bring every- :
body—Russian Generals, Roumanian Military Attachés np
and Ministers—to see it, and they are quite content 4
i

because our painted canvas looks like the roofs of
ordinary houses.”

Although there were no wounded, there was a i
considerable number of sick, chiefly malaria cases, which ¢
kept the Staff fairly busy. :

There was a constant rumour of a “ crand offensive’
to be undertaken on the Roumanian front, which Dr.

Inglis, though extremely sceptical of any offensive on a ty
large scale, made every preparation to meet.

In a letter to Miss Onslow, her Transport officer at
Odessa, she asked for the cars, which had been carrying
wounded from the station at Odessa to the hospitals ae
in the town, cto be sent up to join the Hospital at
Hadji-Abdul.

‘No one really knows,” she wrote, “what the
Russian Government means or will do. I don’t think
the last explanation of how the last order for Archangel re
came to be altered improves things at all. It shows
there is no settled policy, but that they are swayed by
the last opinion. Such a wave may carry us right into
RKoumania, and I want ¢47s Hospital at any rate to be i
ready, and then one often gets a chance of helping one fi
would otherwise lose. It is awfully nice being back
with the Serbs. We had lunch at the Headquarters i
to-day—six of us—a kind of official welcome.”

‘ The London Committee had cabled to Dr. Inglis in
the same month advising the withdrawal of the Unit,
but leaving the decision in her hands, to which she i

wth

218 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

my hands. I will come with the division,” Following
upon this cable came a letter, in which she emphasised
her reasons for ren, dning: “If there were a disaster
we should none of us ever forgive ourselves if we had
left. We must stand by. If you want us home, vet
them out.”

In almost identical words Florence Nightingale
answered those who urged her return from the Crimea—
she would only return when the last of her wounded
could be moved with her.

On September the 28th news was brought to Dr.
Inglis that the Division was to leave in three days for
Archangel. The few days extended to a month, for
a counter-order came for the division to proceed to
Ackerman, near Odessa, on the Black Sea, there to
remain until the spring.

Matters had now become rather serious for the Unit.
Dr. Inglis had shown signs of failing health, and there
was not much hope of obtaining adequate supplies of the
bare necessities of life, food, fuel, and clothing for the
coming winter. With characteristic courage Dr. Inglis
and her Unit faced the situation. A member of the Unit
describes an interview she had with Dr. Inglis on the
day when the orders came for Ackerman, “She told
me it was the first time in her life she had ever been
homesick. She had written to her people saying it was
her last letter from Russia, and now we were not going
after all. She then proceeded to tell me how she would
arrange the Hospital, and who would be sent home and

who would remain. . . . Ill as she was, the details were
arranged in her mind, and we had only heard the change
of plan that morning. . . . I was very miserable when |

left her. She was obviously unfit to remain on.”!

* “Some Months in Bessarabia with the Scottish Women’s Hospitals,”
Blackwood’s Magazine, May 1918.

owing
asised
saster
e had

2, get

ngale
1€a—
inded

ise
s for
, for
d to
e to

J nit.
here
F the
the
lis
J nit
the
told
een
was
ine
uid
ind
ere
ge

n |

ils,”

BACK WITH THE SERB DIVISION 219

The cold was very great, and an effort was made to
find rooms in the village. The Unit were most anxious
for Dr. Inglis, who felt the cold intensely, to move into
a house, but she resolutely declined to do so unless all
the members of the Unit could find similar accommoda-
tion. Fortunately, while the search was being made for
rooms an order, which proved to be final, came in that
the Division was to leave for Archangel.

The British Consul at Odessa had been asked by
Dr. Inglis to send a message to the Foreign Office to
the following effect: That she was on her way home
with the Serb Division to Archangel, and that the
Serbian Chief of Staff had made an earnest request
that if it were possible they might be allowed to pass
through Engtand, in order to judge for themselves of
the work being done there for the success of the Allied
cause. These men, after witnessing the terrible chaos
in Russia—a country they had regarded as their pro-
tector—-were difficult to persuade that conditions were
better in other countries. This proposal of sending
the Serbs through England was very warmly sup-
ported by the Serbian Consul General at Odessa, and
was adopted.

Dr. Inglis in her letters and reports often referred to
the valuable services kindly rendered to the Unit by
the British Consul at Odessa, who from the day of her
arrival was always ready to help in any difficulty.
In his letter of farewell to Dr. Inglis he expressed his
good wishes for the continued success of the Scottish

Women’s [Tospitals, and added: ‘Both my Staff and
myself are very sorry to think you are leaving. The
sorrow, though, is purely selfish — anything that we
have been able to do for you or the Hospital has been
areal pleasure to us. Although we have seen one or
more of you on business every day during the past

220 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

year, never once have the questions asked been any-
thing but practical, nor has assistance been thoughtlessly
or uselessly required. Allow me to offer you and your
Hospital, on behalf of my Staff and myself, our best
wishes for further successes such as you have so de-
servedly won on this front. I am sure that any diffi-
culties you have met with at any time are more than
compensated by the high praise spoken by all Russians
who have come in contact with your Hospital.”

The London Units Committee had feared greatly
for the fate of the Unit if, as seemed probable, the
Serb Division was not able to leave Russia, and on the
gth of November approached the Hon. H. Nicholson at
the War Department of the Foreign Office, who assured
them that the Unit would be quite safe with the Serbs,
who were well disciplined and devoted to Dr. Inglis,
At that moment he thought it would be most unsafe
for the Unit to leave the Serbs and try to come home
overland.

Mr. Nicholson expressed the opinion that the Com-
mittee would never persuade Dr. Inglis to leave her
Serbs, and added: “I cannot €xpress to you our admira-
tion here for Dr. Inglis and the work your Units have
done.”

On November the 14th a cable was received by the
Committee from Dr, Inglis at Archangel announcing
her departure: “On our way home. Everything satis-
factory, and all well except me.” This was the first
intimation that Dr. Inglis was ill which reached the
London Committee.

A member of the Unit who was in close attendance
on Dr. Inglis during the last weeks of her illness at
Hadji-Abdul, and on the journey home, said she was
quite convinced that any other woman would have died
e7 voule—the discomforts were sn great. But Dr. Inglis

) any-
tlessly
| your
- best
o de-
diffi-
than
ssians

‘eatly
, the
n the
On at
sured
erbs,
iglis.
safe
lome

"om-

her
nira-
lave

the
cing
Atis-
first

the

nce
ae
was
lied

21S

BACK WITH THE SERB DIVISION 221

had made up her mind she would bring the Unit and
the Serbs home; therefore she never allowed the
idea of dying to come into her mind. ‘I shall never
forget her on the journey—never a word of complaint
of any kind, although her appearance told you every-
thing she would not.”

Te RR aes

CHAPTER V
THE ELSIE INGLIS UNIT
je eae the last days of the voyage Dr. Inglis

had been very ill, but the day before the ship
anchored in the Tyne she had dressed and gone up
on deck to bid good-bye to the Serb Staff, standing for
about half an hour while the members took leave of her.
After this effort she was much exhausted, but remained
up till the evening.

When the tug came alongside to take her off the
ship, she would not allow herself to be carried, but
with the aid of two of the ship’s officers walked from
her cabin and even down the gangway to the tug.

It was a sad homecoming for the Unit. In spite
of their Chief's almost miraculous conquest of physical
Weakness and pain, they were not deceived as to the
gravity of her condition. But that intrepid spirit never
for one second relinquished command of the failing body ;
she dominated it to the end. The sword had outworn
the sheath, and death came next day. She died on
British soil, and spoke with those she loved, until her
passing.

Her last message to the Chairman of the London
Units Committee showed how almost to the very
end her thoughts were concerned with the future of
the Serbs.

“Whatever happens, dear Miss Palliser, do beg the
Committee to make sure that the Serbs have their
hospital and transport, for they de anced them.”

222

Inglis
ship
ie up
g for
her.
1ined

Y the
but

from

spite
sical

the
ever
ody ;
orn

on
her

don
cry

the
1eIr

THE ELSIE INGLIS UNIT 223

The Committee required no persuasion to carry this
wish inte effect. They immediately began preparation
for the re-organizing and re-equipping of the Unit,
which, after inevitable delays, was ready for service in
February 1918. [t consisted of a personnel of twenty-
five, to serve a hundred beds, and a Motor Transport
Section attached to the Hospital, with twenty-five
cars, etc., and a personnel of thirty-two. There were
three doctors, Dr. Annette Benson, C.M.O.; an
Administrator, Miss Gwynn; and a Chief ‘Transport
officer, Miss Geraldine Hedges,

On 19th February the Unit, now named “the Elsie
Inglis Unit,” had the honour of being inspected by the
King and Queen.

The members of the Unit marched to Buckingham
Palace from the Committee's offices in Victoria Street,
and were drawn up in the grounds of the Palace facing
the terrace.

The officers of the Committee were summoned to
the presence of the King and Queen inside the Palace,
and were presented to their Majesties. Afterwards the
doctors were presented, and the King and Queen pro-
ceeded to inspect the Unit.

The Queen spoke to several members of the Unit
who had been in Russia with Dr. Inglis, especially with
Dr. Ward, who had attended Dr. Inglis on her journey
home and during her last hours. On bidding the Unit
farewell, the King expressed his admiration of the
splendid courage that had been shown, and cordially
wished them a safe journey, success in their work, and
a happy return.

The Elsie Inglis Unit went out under the pro-
tection and patronage of the War Office, and the
Journcy was easy and delightful, though it lacked
suinething of that sense of personal responsibility and

EEE’

224. SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

spirit of adventure which marked the journey throug]
Russia. On arrival, the Unit was transported to th
chosen site for the camp, about thirty miles fron
Salonika, between Drayomantsi and Vertekop.

Hills stood all around the place, and the tents for the
Staff were on a steep hill backed by great grey rocks.
This hill was carpeted with asphodel in the spring,
and the whole camping-ground bloomed with meadow
flowers. Right round the bottom of the camp, where
the laundry tents were pitched, a stream ran, fed by an
underground spring of clear cold water; it was never
dry even in the burning summer, and, when the rainy
season began, it rejoiced all hearts by a sudden flood
racing in full spate. The light railway also ran
through the bottom of the camp, and this was a
very great convenience, especially on the occasion
of the first arrival of the equipment, when the
cases and poles were flung out on to the camping-
ground.

On Monday, the 1st of April, the Unit arrived. The
work of preparation for patients went on apace, until on
Monday, the 2gth of April, the Hospital was opened,
and the Unit received their first. convoy of sick and
wounded.

On the 20th of September the “Elsie Inglis”
Hospital was moved by road up to Donii Pojax. Donii
Pojar was situated just behind the lines at the beginning
of the attack, but was separated by towering hills from
the actual front before the arrival of the Hospital there.
These hills had been taken by the French and the
Serbs in the first days of the fighting, partly by help
of rope ladders. The “ Elsje Inglis” Hospital was the
first dressing-station behind the lines. A great many
nationalities were represented among the patients :
Serbs, French, Italians, Grecks, Turks, Russians, one

through
to the
Ss from

for the
rocks,
spring,
1eadow
where
by an
never
> rainy
1 tlood
Oo ran
Nas a
casion
n the
Iping-

The
til on
ened,
< and

lis”
Donii
ining
from
here.
| the
help
; the
nany
nts:
one

Sie ee

indy

te fabs RD

THE ELSIE INGLIS UNIT 225

Englishman, Bulgars, a German, Austrians, Senegalese,
and Arabs,

On the 16th of October the greater part of the
Hospital Staff and its equipment was transported to
Skoplje, the do/niehars tollowing a few days later.

At Skoplje the Hospital found quarters in a disused
school, with a house in the compound for the Staff. No
delay was allowed the Unit for preparing to receive
patients, as the influenza epidemic was at its height
and within three days of arrival the Hospital was full,
“The Sisters and nurses worked admirably, and fortu-
nately we have no cases of influenza among the Hospital
Staff. Though we all suffered from the cold (there was
little glass in the windows in the building when we
arrived) we were extremely well, and our appetites taxed
the cook’s powers, as for the first fortnight she had
nothing but a hole in a mud over ‘ook over,”

But the work at Skoplje was ot of long duration,
for orders soon came for another move, this time to
Sarajevo, where they met with a cordial reception from
both the local authorities and Serb ladies. The building
assigned as Hospital (in civil life a boys’ school) was
still in possession of an Austrian doctor and nurses. As
soon as these had evacuated the Unit proceeded to
bring the Hospital up to the usual standard of British
cleanliness, an operation involving very hard work. At
first patients were received from the Timok division
then stationed at Sarajevo, but there was no rush of
work as there was already a large Serbian military
hospital in the town.

Throughout the period of three months, ending in
April 1919, that the “Elsie Inglis” Unit was stationed
at Sarajevo, the members received lavish hospitality
from local ladies. At the farewell party given by Dr,
Chesney, it was evident that as an element in the

I
i
if

226 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

cementing of the entente between England and Bosni:
and perhaps, hy this means, between Bosnia and Serbi
proper, the Unit had done good work, possibly of greate

importance than the actual medical work which they ha
hoped to undertake.

Bosnia,
1 Serbia
"greater

hey had

aus

PART SIX: THE CONTINUED WORK
FOR SERBIA

CHAPTER: I
CORSICA

wi ITE story of the Russian Unit with which Dr. Inglis

.« Was so closely associated has been told, and now
we must return to Serbia and pick up the thread of the
history where we left it at the end of Part III. The
following chapters contain an account of the work the
S.W.HL. did for the Serbs during their exile, till their
victorious return once more to the land they loved, and
had fought for so indomitably.

LerterR rRoM Dr. Curcin To THE S.W.H. ComMiItTreE

“LONDON, January 1916.

“Dear Mapam,—Hearing of your gracious decision
to give us another hospital—this time for the Serbian
refugees in Corsica—the Headquarters Staff of the
Serbian Army has instructed me to place myself at your
disposal to facilitate the installation of this hospital by
procuring the requisite information concerning the
refugees, or by acting as intermediary between your
Committee and the Serbian and French authorities.

“The Headquarters Staff—and in particular the

Chiet of the Sanitary Section, who are deprived at the
227

228 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

moment of the means of expressing to you personal];
their profound gratitude—have imposed on me_ th
pleasant duty of explaining to your Committee the
extraordinarily useful work which was accomplished ir
Serbia by the Scottish Women’s Hospitals during this
war. They were, after Lady Paget, the first to come
and help us during the very sad time of our worst
epidemic. From the momeat of their arrival they set
themselves to work with vigour, never hesitating or
stopping before the danver of infection or death. Four
of their members fell victims to this deadly foe, but the
only consequence of this was to increase the zeal of the
Committee and of the newly arrived members, Among
the latter was Dr. Elsie Inglis, the Chief of the Mission,
who never tired of her labours, but was ever on the quest
of new and more arduous work. She was an oreaniser
without equal. It was this modest but indefatigable
woman who decided the English and Serbian Military
Authorities to leave a large portion of the Envlish
Missions in Serbia to look after the wounded soldiers
and prevent them from despairing and fleeing, broken
as they were, before the enemy across the mountainous
land of Albania. Dr. Inglis remained! there herself
with her doctors and nurses, and now she refuses to
return until there are no serious cases in the Hospital.
“If the existence of Serbia is for the moment in
jeopardy, there are still ten million Serbians who may
continue to suffer under the yoke of the enemy, but
who cannot disappear. These people will never forget
all that has been done for them by the English and
Scottish women during this war, and there will not be
a single Serbian heart in which— by the side of the
admiration they have always felt for the great British
‘This letter was written in January 10.5; Dr. Inglis and her panty

t n
returned, as we have seen, in February.

rsonally
ne the
tee the
shed in
ing this
> come
worst
ley eset
ing or
Four
but the
of the
\mong
lission,
> quest
raniser
igable
filitary
nevlish
oIdiers
roken
1inous
lerself
es: 0
tal.
nt in
) may
5 tevin!
orget
and
ot be
f the
ritish

- party

CORSICA 229

nation—there will not be found a more tender feeling—
that of gratitude to the women of Great Britain who
have helped them in their sorrow.
“(Sed.) Dr. M. Curcin,
“Chief of the Department for Foreign Missions
of the Sanitary Section of the Serbian Army
Headquarters.”

CorsIca

In August of 1915, a party of Scottish Women,
under Dr. Mary Blair, was sent to Serbia to reinforce
Dr. Alice Hutchison’s Unit at Valjevo. They arrived
at Salonika just at the time when the line of blocking
hospitals in the north was being evacuated, and when
the great work for the wounded Serbs was beginning
in Krushevatz. It was too late for them to be sent up
country to Dr. Hutchison — what was to be done?
Were they to return home? Not at all. The dogged
Scottish Women refused to entertain such an idea;
confident in the belief that the ca!l to work would not be
long in reaching them, they waited for it in) Salonika.
It was not long before their confidence was justified.
They will soon be found on board the ship conveying
Serbian refugees to Corsica, where they were to form
the nucleus of a new unit. Their work was to take a
novel direction in caring for the refugees and in “ nursing
back to life a portion of the sorely tried Serbian nation.”
The Scottish Women were thus to add another and an
unlooked-for service to those they had already been
privileged to render to Serbia —services which are
destined to continue long after the cessation of the war.
It is the story of this Unit which has to be told here.

“Dr. Mary Blair, with her sixteen women, landed
in Salonika in the third week of October. They
were kept waiting for some weeks without work. The

230 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

general advice was, ‘Go home—this is no place fo
you.. With che usual contrariness of human nature
these ‘Refills’ at Once said, ‘Well, then, we'll stay
and wait and see,’ which they did, until the beginning 06
December. They housed themselves in an old Turkist
harem on a hill near Salonika and waited,”

Dr. Blair's report, written on 23rd December, tells
what they did during the Waiting time, and how the
work done then opened the door to further developments
in Corsica :

“IT shall just recount all that has happened since my
last report on 4th December,

Thad told you that it Was agreed to remix. all the
Serbian refugees from Salonika and to found a colony
for them elsewhere. It was decided that we should be
the Hospital Unit for the colony. The first place suc-
gested was Guevgueli, and it was, of course, on Serbian
soil. When that place was evacuated another site had
to be chosen, and for some time the choice seemed to
lie between Volo, on the east coast of Greece, ard a
Greek island. Volo seemed almost a settled thing,
when circumstances changed it all avain.,

“On gth December, Dr. Anderson and I went with
Sir Edward Boyle and Dr. Douritch for a four days’
journey in the direction of Monastir. He was travelling
on behalf of the Serbian Relief Fund to arranve for
distribution of relief to the refugees at Vodena
MIGritia: We dpard to see th
of the refugees and to

and
€ condition and numbers
gain definite ideas about their
medical needs. [ felt that after seeing them in th:
Various towns I shoul

need of a hospital a

| have some idea about their

nd about the scope of the work.
We had a very interesting trip, spending one nicht at

Vodena and two at Florina. At Vodena there were

about 150 families of refupees— about 50 of these

lace for
nature
ll stay,
ning of
Turkish

BRecells
OW the
pments

Ge my

all the
colony
uld be
€ suy-
erbian
te had
ned to
aueval ai
thing,
t with
days’
celine
Reaton
1 and
nbers
their

CORSICA 231

requiring immediate help, and the others help in a few
weeks.

‘At Florina we saw the more pathetic sight of the
Serbian soldiers who had strageled in over the Pass
from the region of Lake Ochrida. We found a number
of these sitting or lying by the roadside exhausted,
hungry, and footsore. Several looked very ill. We
bought loaves of bread and distributed them, and to
those who were too ill to eat, we gave hot coffee. We
aso got them new socks and dressed the frost-bitten
feet of one or two men. Sir Edward Boyle arranged for
these men and the sia or seven hundred refugee families
to remain there till they could be received in Florina.
A doctor and two nurses of another Unit were sent up
to work temporarily—till the refusees were removed.
We saw one family, consisting of a woman, a girl, a
little boy about three, and a baby about e'even months
old. All these had been wounded by the Bulgars by
being prodded with bayonets.

“While at Florina, Sir Edward told me that on our
return to Salonika, our most urgent work would be to
get the refugees quickly and safely away. He relied on
our Unit for that work.

“While we were away Miss Hunter organized the
refugee work at the station. I had asked Sir Edward
before leaving if he would like us to do it, and would
grant us money from the S.R. funds for the purpose.
We offered to supply the labour while waiting for our
own scheme. On our return trom Florina we found
eve. ything in working order—a tea and bread stall to
feed the refugees on arrival, a tent pitched to house them
for the night, and arrangements made daily for motor
transport to convey the refugees and their baggage the
next day to an encampment put up for them on the
land surrounding the Russian hospital. Sir Edward

232, SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

was most pleased with the rapidity with which the work
had been organized and carried out, especially amid all
the difficulties of getting things done that there are
in Salonika. He spent the whole of the next night at
the station and acquired a very favourable impression of
the party of Scottish Women you entrusted to my care.

“Shortly after this, he sent for me, and definitely
laid his plans before me. An offer had been received
from the French Government to give free transport to
the refugees to Ajaccio, and to house them there. The
first lot were to leave almost at once. He asked me to
take my party there—a certain number going in each
transport to take care of the refugees on the journey.
He wished me to be in charge of the medical affairs of
the colony. There was no time .» cable home for ex-
Press permission to go to Ajaccio, but that I believed
might be assumed, as we had permission to establish a
hospital for civilians, and these are the only Serbian
civilians that can be helped at present. We sent off the
Wire to you, and hoped it would be in time to stop the
equipment from starting for Salonika.

“I saw Sir Edward on Friday last, had to be ready
to sail on Sunday, and actually sailed on Monday at
three o'clock. So there has been a great rush. The next
Party will probably be under Miss Culbard, the third
with Miss Hunter, and the last with Dr. Anderson, who
remains in charge in Salonika.

“ All of us were very busy helping at the Refugee
Camp, and there is so much help needed there and at
the station that it was not possible to transfer every one
at once. All the Florina families have to be got down
this week and passed on to transports as speedily as
possible. There are no helpers to do the work except
those who, like ourselves, happen to be on the spot.

“T was anxious to get the equipment from the Serbian

ie work
mid all
re are
ight at
sion of
Care.
finitely
ceived
Ort to
The
me to
1 each
urney,
airs of
Or ex-
lieved
lish a
*rbian
ff the

yp the

ready
ay at
next
third

who

‘ugee
id at
"one
lown

CORSICA 233

sheds at Salonika, away with us in this ship. I was told
it was not possible, but I thought I would try, as it is so
likely never to come at all if left behind. I went out to
see the Amazone the evening after she left to lie off in
the Bay, and found her holds empty. I asked the captain
if he would take the equipment, and he said he would if
it were on board atg a.m. It was then 6 p.m. I went
back to Mr. Behrens, who thought it would be excelient
to do so, but not possible. He agreed that I might try,
so I went to the British authorities, who were very nice,
but could not help at such short notice. They advised
me to try the French. Mr. Behrens went with me.
The first officials were charming, and promised a lighter
at 8 am. They took us to another office where two
carts and eight men were arranged for 7 a.m. I went
down about seven with Bell and an orderly and found
Mr. Behrens, but no carts or men. The carts came
about eight and the men never. We found some odd
men and got on with the cartage, but mules are not the
best beasts when you are in a hurry. The lighter did
not appear till nine, but in the end forty-seven packages
were got away, about forty of them being our goods.
The only things to follow are some bales buried under
sacks of flour, and the Barenga equipment, which
were all taken to the French Unit camp by the French
authorities. Anything we have taken that is not for
our use will be quite safe in Corsica. I do not think it
would if left in Salonika, as Sir E. Boyle, Dr. Douritch,
and Mr, Behrens will all be leaving, and they are anxious
to get the stables emptied and everything used for the
benetit of the Serbians.

“T shall telegraph on arrival at Ajaccio. I should
like to know what you would like the Hospital called,
and any other things that you wish to give us special
instructions about. _ 7 |

234 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

“T am taking medical charge of the refugees on
board. I am afraid one woman is going to have her
first baby on board before we reach Corsica. We hope
it will be delayed till we arrive, but, in any case, I think
we can care for her quite well.

“T think there wil be plenty of useful work for us
among the Serbians in Corsica. They expect to have
five or six thousand there.”

If ever any work could claim the name of reconstruc-
tion, that done by the S.W.1i. in Corsica has a title to it.
It has been the rebuilding cf a nation broken and dis-
persed—the nursing back to life and health of dying men
and women and children, The Committee rejoice in the
work done by their Corsican Unit, and the Manchester
and District Federation may well be proud of the Unit
that bears their name. The following description of
Corsica is from the pen of a member of Committee
who knows the island well :

‘Corsica is a country where you can escape from the
twentieth century and find yourself in a simpler and
larger age. It is an island of most vivid contrasts : you
can pass from Ajaccio, which is as far as externals go—
an ordinary Irench town—to places like Bonifacio,
Sartene, and Corte, where you slip back at once into the
seventeenth century. An hour’s motor journey will take
you from a mountainous waste above the tree-line to a land
of subtropical vegetation, where the orange and olive tree
flourish, and the air is sweet with the scent of mimosa,
and where, along the roads, aloes and_ prickly pears,
wicked and sinister, form the barriers of the fields.

“Corsica is traversed from north-east to south-west
by a chain of mountains guly moderate in height as alps
go, few of them exceeding Sooo feet. But rising as
they do from the sea-level, their situation gives them
an appearance Oo. great eight. They are beautiful

i CORSICA 235
ssl mountains, beautifully grouped, their higher peaks snow- |
her covered for six months of the year.
lope ; “Between the orange groves of the littoral and the ly
rink barren peaks come wonderful forests of chestnut and oak i
and pine. The chestnut woods are chicfly round the hi
ee little countrv villages—magnificent trees most of them. H
ave Their nuts are very largely used for food, manufactured,
and cooked in various ways. Above the chestnuts
Joa come the oaks, and most wonderful forests of larch if
O it. and pine.
dis- “Corsica is covered by a kind of heath, a perfect blaze Hf
ss of colour. How can I adequately describe to you this
the slory 2? Six plants, you are told, form the basis singly
ShOr anv one of them has little scent, together they have one
Jnit unlike anything else—a fragrance beloved of the Corsican,
1 of and hunvered for by the exile. They say that the
ttee Corsican mariner can smell it while yet miles out at ;
‘ CC ae ;
the “Corsica’s history, like our own, has been ‘one long
and brawl.” From early Pha:nician to Roman, from Roman
you to Saracen, from Saracen to Genoese—many have tried
ee thei- hand at its government. For a period of about |
clo, nine months it was an appurtenance of the British i
the Crown.” i
ake [ In this beautiful little island we find the 5th Unit of '
and the S.W.H. doing its work of reconstruction,
tree : On the 19th of December the first transport left :
9sa, Salonika with two members of the Serbian Relief Fund E|
ars, and two of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals—Dr. Mary e
‘ Blair and Sister Walker. Each subsequent transport
rest was accompanied by members from both s« cieties.
lps The S.R.F. took over the work of housing, clothing,
as and providing occupation for the r. ugees. The S.W.H.
em organized all the medical work in connection with the
iful Serbian Coiony.

236 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

“Dr. Blair had, on landing, requisitioned an old
convent, which she had transformed into a temporary
hospital. In the one ward were typhoid, appendicitis,
pneumonia, and maternity cases, being treated as well
as possible under trying and elementary conditions—no
water, no means of heating except Primus stoves, and no
Sanitary arrangements, All the refugees, whether of
peasant extraction, or otherwise, were destitute. Amongst
them were prospective mothers, and even before they
arrived in Ajaccio, one baby was born on board the first
transport in which Dr. Blair was crossing. He was given
the name of ‘ Aédda,’! to recall the crossing into exile.
Another born on the day of arrival was christened
Napoleon, in memory of the renowned celebrity of the
island. Since that day seventy-nine babies have been
born in the S.W.H., and only two have died; the others
are healthy and strong, and rival English babies both in
health and in bearty. As a result of the exposure and
privations suffered, either during the march or during
their flights to Salonika, the whole colony was in a
weakened condition—luckily no serious epidemic arose.
After much searching a suitable building for a hospital
was found.” 4

This was the Villa Miot in Ajaccio —a white-washed,
two-storeyed building with green venetian shutters,
looking directly on to the bay. Here was housed for
over three years the Hospital which has been the centre
of the work of the S.W.HL. in Corsica. On the upper
storey the maternity ward, with its red tiled floor and
wide windows looking straight over th. gulf, was the
pleasantest room in the Hospital. The work grew on
all hands. Tents were pitched in the garden for the
Open-air ireatment of the phthisical patients, of whom

1 Adda was the name of the vessel that took the first refugees to Corsica.

* Lhe quotations are from the letter of a member of the Staff.

n old
orary
licitis,
; well
s—no

nd no

er of

ONngst
they
- first
riven
exile.
ened
f the
been
thers
th in
and
ring
in a
rose.

pital

hed,

ters,

for
ntre

yper
and
the
7 On
the

CORSICA,

ViLtaA

Miaror,

LIACCIO, Corse 4

CORSICA 23°

there were many. For some time a fever hospital was
in the Lazaret, a most picturesque and historic building
about two miles distant from the General Hospital. It
is a building on a point jutting out into the gulf, built in
the form of a semicircle of small rooms round a central
courtyard, with pathways of flags between borders of
white roses. The place is particularly suited for an
infectious diseases hospital, as it is practically a verandah
hospital, forming shelter by night for the patients who
were nursed all day in the open air in the sunny
courtyard.

The out-patient department extended from the
General Hospital, where it was first instituted, to four
dispensaries in picturesque villages in the mountains.
In each of these villages a room served as a dispensary,
and was visited on different days of the week.

“ Soon after the Hospital was opened in the Villa Miot
over 3000 recruits and several decimated regiments
arrived from Serbia. They had come through Albania,
and after wandering for some time were finally brought to
Corsica. Well do I remember the day they arrived. The
Préfet asked me to accompany him to a review of the
men, and welcome them as heroes. But what a pitiful
sizht they were—broken men; many could not stand up,
so worn out were they—some footless, some wounded,
all filthy, but game to the last.

“These filled up every empty bed in the Hospital.
Several of us were only too glad to give up our rugs and
camp beds to provide more room. The corridors were
filled two deep, and the children were placed on the
shelves in the linen cupboard to give a few more beds.
Two months’ rest was granted, and these soldiers, whose
ages varied from thirteen to fifty years, were sent on to
Corfu to join up with the newly re-formed Serbian Army.

‘In the same building were German prisoners,

238 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

who did their best to assist the wounded and stricken
soldiers, and to whom we gave medical assistance when
necessary,

“Our next group of pathetic arrivals was the school-
boys and students who had come through Albania during
its time of snow and lack of food. Many of them
had had no change of clothes for three months; their
ages ranged from six to eighteen years.” Thirty
thousand started from etbia—barely 7000 remained to
tell the horrors of the march through the mountains.
“From San Giovanni an Italian ship used to put out
nightly bearing away to sea the bodies of these boys,
who during their stay in that town died by hundreds
every day. The ship well earned its title, Zhe White
Sepulchre, and the island where these exiles were
quarantined came to be known as * Z’/s/p wes Morts,’

“The work amongst the schoolboys was both inter-
esting and of great value Dr. Helena Jones was chictly
instrumental in obtaining better conditions for them,
and she worked hard from early morning until late at
night—nothing was teo much trouble to her. If you
mentioned the boys she put everything aside and flew to
their assistance. Many owe their lives, not only to her
medical skill, which she devoted to them, but to her
breezy way of encouraging and motheriny them,

“These boys after a rest of three months were
divided into two groups, and it was a proud day tor the
Hospital when we cheered 300 fit and strony boys off to
school in England, the remainder being sent to study in
France.”

The story of the Reconstruction Hospital would not
be complete without an account of “A Babies’ Party”
held in its grounds. The writer is Dr. Mary Phillips, who
was with Dr. Hutchison both in Calais and Valjevo, and
was €.M.O. at Corsica when the Baby Show took place.

trricken
» when

school-
during
them

their
Thirty
ned to
tains.
ut out
boys,
dreds
White
were
Torts.’
inter-
hietly
them,
ate at
f you
ew to
o her
> her

were
r the
off to
dy i

d not
rly a
who
, and
lace.

CORSICA 230

“All the babies who had been born in the Scottish
Women's Hospital at Ajaccio were invited to the Hospital
one afternoon in May 1917.

“It was a lovely day—-blue sea, blue sky, and not
too hot. A tent was pitched in the garden for refresh-
ments and shade. A few friends, including the Serbian
Delegate, were invited to meet the mothers and babies,
and the Committee was represented by Mus. Gardner
Robertson. Amonyst the guests were Sir Edward and
Lady Boyle, Colonel and Mme Pitetitch, and Mme.
Dedinovatz, the wife of another Colonel at the front.
Their joy in seeing these vigorous young Serbians was
quite touching, and their thanks profuse.

“A few mothers and babies came from the hill
villages of Uncciani and Boceannano, but most were
resident in Ajaccio, and about forty infants were present.
They varied in age, from Napoleon, the first biby born
on the island, to the new baby of forty-eight hours
(if T remember rightly), shown on my knee in the
photograph. The mother was so disappointed that she
could not be in the ‘s/ick’ herself, and asked me to take
her baby, which T did

“The group includes George and Mary, the first
babies christened in the Hospital, and the famous * Boozy
Bill. whose name has become a household word among
the members of the S.W.H. The Baba (old woman) in
the black head-dress hails from Macedonia, and there
are a few in peasant costumes from Northern Serbia.

“On arrival, the mothers were received at the front
door, passed into the consulting-room, and amid much

noise the babies were weighed and weights recorded
carefully. It was surprising to find that there was no

superstition against weighing such as 1 often found
at home, From the consulting-room the mothers passed
into the garden for refreshment and, gratulations and

240 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

much talk over the respective weights of the infants.
As far as I remember, they were of average weight ;
they were naturally fed, for the most part, and all had
made good progress.

‘The previous winter, 1916, had been very cold.
The Corsican houses are not built for cold weather,
and many of the children had suffered from broncho-
pneumonia, but, true to their race, the Serbian babies
have wonderful recuperative powers, even after many
weeks of fever. We were very proud of the fact that
we didn't lose one, and at the time of the party they
were all well again,

Little Slobodanka Cistitch was the most wonderful
of them all. She was taken ill with pneumonia up at
Piana. First Dr. Jackson and then I had to cross the
river in spate. The bridge was washed away, and
the crossing had to be made in a small boat—after seven
attempts, success crowned our efforts. Little Slobo-
danka was at last brought down to Hospital, and after
many weary wecks got well and became the pet of
the Unit.

‘Now a word about baby clothes. The Serbian
custom is to bind the child up ‘Italian Bambino’
fashion, and the straps are must beautifully embroidered,
and for peasant babies done in coloured wools. The
Jugo- Slavs, of whom we had a fair number, used
little hair mattresses and pillows German fashion. In
hospital the English method was followed, but I fear
that, on leaving, the binding was replaced. One par-
ticularly fine baby who had never had her legs bound
was proudly shown as the English baby.

“In the toddlers’ photograph ‘ Boozy Bill’ is march-
ing steadily off to the left with his socks coming down ;
George in white, in his first trousers, is leaving me, and
Mary is on the rig

fants,
‘ight ;
1 had

cold.
ather,
ncho-
abies
many
t that

they

Jerful
up at
3s the

and
seven
lobo-
after
et of

rbian
bino’
ered,
The
used
In
fear
par-
ound

arch-
own;
ariel

CORSICA,

Tut

BABY Stow

itil

Oe \euie das

CORSICA 241

“Writing of them brings them all back to me,
dear little people, with their engaging ways and
their caresses for ‘ Doctor.’ How much I hope they
are back in their own country. Perhaps you will let
me know if the Colony has cleared—my godson is
there.”

* * * * * * *

The S.W.H. in sunny Corsica brought a whiff of
the glen and the heather one day to two exiled
Scotsmen, landed there on their way to one of the
battle fronts. They saw “ Scottish Women’s Hospitals”
over the gate-posts, and “ without a moment's hesitation
rushed into the office.” A Scotch woman from Aberdeen
was in charge that day, and the sense of home that
was brought to the two exiles by the Scotch face and
the Scotch tongue rejoiced their hearts, though it made
one of them lay his head down upon the table and
cry like a little child.

To many and many a Serb also—man, woman, and
child—this Hospital has meant fod kuche (home) during
their exile.

One boy patient, on being told he was well
enough to leave the Hospital, bezged to be allowed
to stay on, saying, “If I leave here, | lose my family
again,’ so much had the place become home _ to
him.

The Hospital continued open until April 1919,
under Dr. Honoria Keer, who had been appointed
C.M.O. in April 1918. A record of its medical work
is given in the Appendix, but the value of the work
done will be found even more faithfully recorded in
the lives of many sturdy children in Serbia to-day, who
owe their physical well-being to the love and care
bestowed upon their mothers by the Scottish Women

in Corsica.

ES '”S le

242, SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPi "ALS

\LLANCHES

At the urgent request of M, Radovanovitch,
Serbian Commissioner-Genera] in France, the Co
mittee offered to establish in France a Tuberculo
Hospital for Serbs, which was Sratefully accepted.
suitable building was secured at Sallanches, under t
shadow of Mont Blanc, and the hospital was open
in March 1918, Marked improvement took place
the health of the patients, who were drawn principal

, from the rank of the Serbian students studying |

| France, and the number of beds was raised from 1c
to 150. Through the generosity of the American Re
Cross the funds for the extra beds were provide:
Large sums were given by Wales, Greenock, Ki]
marnock, and Birmingham, and a ward was called afte
cach of these places,

Dr. Matilda Macphail was the first C.M.O. of the
Unit, and the Scottish Women owe her a great deb
of gratitude for the work she did for them during the
six months she was at Sallanches. In the initial staves
of the Sanatorium, when many difficulties had to be
Overcome, her wisdom, common sense, and organizing
BOWES WEFE (4. -GPeat “asset £6 the S.W.H. Dr.
Macphail is head of a large women’s hospital in Madras,
where she has “pent many years: of her life. honoured
and loved throughout a wide area. It was while on
furlough that she undertook this new duty, giving her
time and her ripe experience to the service of the
S.W.H., and on her return to India, Dr. Marian Bullock
became C.M.O. of the Unit. The work continued
steadily until May 1919, when the need for this Sana-
torium was no longer so urgent as it had been.

Ae Sth een ee

.LS

ritch, the )
he Com- I
erculosis

pted. A
nder the
; Opened
place in
incipally
lying in
rom 100
can Red
rovided,
me AE.

ed after

of the
it debt
ing the
Staves
to be
Anizing
Dr.
ladras,
loured
ile on 7 :
ae Be eae
of the
ullock
Inued
Sana-

CHAPTER I]
OSTROVYU
THe American Unir

ae RUISED, battered, and broken, their homes

deserted, their country lost, this 2nd Serbian
Army was quickly mobilised and thoroughly equipped
in Corfu for a crowning effort on behalf of their beloved
land.”

These words were written of the men of Serbia
who had been swept from their country before the
advancing enemy, and who were now being gathered
together in a supreme attempt to redeem her fortunes.
The last chapter has told how some of them had filled
to overflowing the S.W.H. in Corsica, and had been
nursed back to vigour, before they rejoined the army
at Corfu for one more desperate venture. The S.W.H.
were to take part in this venture too, for the Serbian
Government approached the Scottish Women’s Head-
quarters with n urgent request for another Unit and a
Transport Column to accompany the army.

It was to the help of this 2nd Army, fighting in the
Monastir district of the Moglena Mountains, west of
Salonika, that the sixth Unit of the S.W.H. was sent
in August 1916. Australia was well represented in
the Unit. The C.M.O., Dr. Agnes Bennett, and two
of the other doctors, Doctors Scott and Cooper, Miss
Bedford, head of the Transport Column, and several
of the orderlies came from that country, and the finds

for the upkeep of the Unit were subscribed largely in
243

244 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

America. It bore the Name of the * Ainerican Unit

The women of Australia and New Zealand kept tl
standard of work as hich as that set by the medic
women in the other Scottish Won n's Hospitals,

The Unit had a personnel of sixty and was equippe
with « view to being as mobile as possible, havin
sufficient transport, not only for the wounded, but als
for the Staff. Arriving at Salonika in the middle c¢
August, they were housed for a fortnight at Mikra Bay
before being sent up to Ostrovo. It was a busy fort
night in many ways. A canteen was opened at the
Station in Salonika, which Proved invaluable for the
short time it was working ; some of the nurses were
lent to an R.A.M.C. Hospital whose Staff had not
arrived, and as soon as they could be fitted up, ambu-
lances began to run out to field hospitals carrying
wounded and sick. But the most noteworthy piece
ot work done during this fortnight was the unloading
of the equipment in an incredibly short space of time,
with the result that all Was in readiness for the move
forward, immediately the order came. Delay over this
particular piece of work vould in all probability have
prevented that quick move to Ostrovo on tst September
which brought this Unit of the S.W.H. to that point
on the Serbian Western Front where it was most needed.
The story is as follows - The ship bearing’ the equip-
ment of the Unit was to go into harbour at the Greek
quay on the Saturday after its arrival at Salonika,
There che lorries and Ford vans belonging to the
British Motor Transport were to be unloaded, but no
Provision could be made at that time for dischareing
the rest of the cargo. The Friéulein, as soon as t
M.T. cargo was unshipped, was to go Out into ¢
bay to await further orders. Rather than allow t

equipment on board the réulein to be carried ont

7€
re

|
|
1
‘
i

er RUN TES weer

iy al 0 Saves
kept the
medic.l
“4
quipped
having
but also
iddle of
ra Bay,
sy fort-
at the
for the
S were
ad not
ambu-
Urying
piece
dading
"time,
Move
Ce this
have
‘mber
point
eded.
quip-
reek
nike,
the
tne

OSTROVO 245

into the bay for this indefinite period, Mr. Stebbing,!
transport offic r to the Unit, himself determined to
unload it, at the same time that the MT. carvo was
being brought on shore. This was the only chance
of securing it, before the uncertain date of the return
ofthe Ayeudeim to harbour, He therefore, with a party
of Serbian soldiers and six Scottish Women, started in
the morning, at 6 am., a neck to neck race of unloading
their equipment with those who were unloading the
M.T. It was an exciting race for the Scottish Women,
for whatever of their careo was still on board, after the
last of the M.T. cars was unshipped, would be carried
out into the bay, and remain there, until the return of
the /rdalem. Mr. Stebbing’s party worked so. well,
and the kindly “subalterns in charge of the car-unloading”
(alter a conversation with Mr. Stebbing) “so arranved
matters that, as the last car went over the side forward,
we slung out the last five slings of tent Hooring aft, and
the job was done.” The ship had already bezun to move
slowly as Mr. Stebbing and his kit were hurried down the
gangway. That they were justified in their determina-
tion to unload their equipment at the first opportunity
presented was proved by the fact that the Prandin did
hot return to the quay until the day afer the Scottish
Women had received orders to proceed to Ostrovo. In
Mr. Stebbine’s book we read a description of the work
the orderlies did in checking the 1400 bales of equipment:

“And now I have left the most amazing part of
this piece of work till the last, to wit, the performance
of the S.W.H. orderlies, for it was magnificent.
have said that a party of orderlies were turned for the
nonce into equipment checkers. The whole of the

' Mr. Stebbing kindly gave his services for the three months that he
could be spared from his duties as a lecturer in the

: the Edinburgh University.
He did invaluable service for the S.W.H.

2406 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

hospital equipment, every box, bale, and piece of tent
flooring, was checked by these girls as it came over
the ship on to the quay, and rechecked by others as
it was stacked up in the dump some fifty yards away,
The first party worked from 7 am. till 3 p.m, when,
protestiny vigorously that they were not tired and
wanted to see the whole thine out, they were reli ed
and ret.rned to camp. The second party, four in
number, started at 3 pm. and worked on till 11 a.m,
next morning ; it is difficult to express admiration for
the efficiency of the work they did and the grit they
displayed, for they only had about three hours’ sleep
that nicht. We did not starve the working parties,
The officers of the ship saw to that. It was their un-
bounded hospitality which made the business a possibility,
although they strongly disapproved of the women
Working in this fashion, and did not forget to let me
know it; the girls themselves, however, laughed at them
for—well, I think | heard one Say ‘sentimental idiots.’
The mere recital of the way they worked is sufficient
in itself. It requires no Varnishing, ;

“When you add a glaring hot sun and dense clouds
of fine white dust often blown about by a strong breeze,
you have a picture of the conditions under which the
checker girls worked. They did not appear to consider
they were doing anything out of the ordinary. But the
French and Italians, officers and men alike, held a
different Opinion, For they watched them at first with
Surprise and incredulity, which changed to admiration,
‘Oh, ces Anglais, tls sont st pratique,’ was the oft-
repeated exclamation, Whether this allusion referred
to the methodical manner in which the girls worked, or
to the fact that we brought our women into the show
as well as our men, | never determined,” !

At the Serbian Fy; tin Maced:

a, by E. P, Stebbing.

AARNE RA taal een ee ———————————

f tent
over
érs as
away,
when,
1 and
li ved
ur in
a.m,
n for
they
sleep
ties,
r un-
rility,
omen
t me
hem
lots,’
cient

ouds
ZE,
the
ider
the
1 3
vith
on,
oft-
red
or
ow

OSTROVO 247

On tst September the beginning of the Serbian
push towards Monastir was rumoured. “The Bulgars
were thrown back slightly—the camp buzzed with the
news.” Colonel Sondermeyer requested Dr. Bennett to
take her Hospital up to Ostrovo, where they would be
near the fighting on that Western Front—the only
Hospital given this privilege. Ostrovo was eighty-five
miles from Salonika. The journey to it was first across
fifty miles of the Salonika plain and afterwards up a
mountain track of sand or rock. On a Sunday morning,
early in September, the advance party started for
Ostrovo : ‘*Our pace was to be regulated by that of the
lorries, since it was essential that the convoy should keep
together. Of the girl chauffeurs with us two were
driving the lorries, and as we carried on down the
Monastir road through Salonika that early Sunday
morning, we made a party which arrested the attention
of all and sundry. The S.W.H. were well known in
Salonika, but they had never before turned out quite
such a convoy as we presented, nor had they ever had
the luck to send one up to the front before. The
big lorries run by the girls were the chief centre of
interest.” Space forbids us to tell, with any degree of
fullness, the thrilling story of that march up the mountains.
The pass was little suited for motor transport. One of
the big lorries had to be left half-way up, at a corner
very difficult to negotiate. It was brought on to
Ostrovo a few hours later by “a staff-sergeant of the
M.T., who opportunely appeared on the scene at the
difficult corner and proved a veritable godsend during
the next thirty hours.” Mr, Stebbing tells in his
narrative how the lorry “arrived before dark, driven by
that magni‘icent man the staff-sergeant, who, somewhat
ruffled in temper, said he ‘ was not taking on another job
of that description, no, not for no Scottish Women, nor

iat cane

248 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

any other women.’ I could well believe it. It was
fine feat.” The whole party were up by Wednesda
and the pitching of the tents began in earnest.

“The site of the camp was perfect. Set in a cu
among the lower hills, with the high peaks, so soon t
be covered with snow, before and behind us, protecte
from wind on every side, and surrounded by large tree:
with a spring of fresh water beside us, we felt we ha
reached our ideal camping-ground. But there wa
much work to do to get our Hospital ready. On ou
first evening in camp, star shells were being sent u
over the enemy's lines, and it was known that crea
preparations were being made for a big advance
Then the first of very heavy guns wakened the Uni
one night, and by 6.30 a.m.—our breakfast hour—th
great advance which ended in the fall of Monasti
had begun.”!

The Unit had arrived just in time. The battle o
Gornichevo and. the storming of Kaimatchalan bot!
took place in September. There were a few Serbia
dressing-stations in the mountains of Moglena, but n
hospital except the S.W.H. nearer than Salonika.

The open green space, the river Howing by, anc
the elm trees on every hand, made a beautiful setting
for this hospital under canvas. Mr. Stebbing seys o
the equipment: “It may be said here that our equip
ment was as near pertect as man could desire whet
unknown conditions are considered.”

The women had their work cut out for them, fo:
they were now a casualty clearing station.

“All this meant that there would be plenty of work
for our Hospital, and the erecting of ward tents proceedec
apace. Five wards holding go beds each, with thei
attendant duty tents, were to be erected, and on Tuesday

* Dr. Bennett’s report,

t was a
Inesday,

n a cup
soon to
rotected
ye tréeés,
we had
re Was
On our
sent up
at creat
dvance,
ve Unit
ur—the
lonastir

attle of
in. both
Serbian

but no
\

oy, and
setting
seyvs of ~

- equip-
e when

em, for

f work
yceeded
h_ their

uesday,

OSTROVO 249

19th September, we opened our hospital with 20
patients, the first of whom arrived in the ambulances of
the Transport Column, Next day we again admitted
20; on Thursday 37; and this continued till our 200
beds were occupied.

‘The cases were straight from the battlefield of
Kaimatchalan—‘ straight’ in this country meant that
they had field dressings applied, were carried by hand,
or on stretchers suspended one on either side of a mule,
to a dressing-station about five hours’ journey down the
mountain, Here they were placed in a sale de panse-
ments, the wound iodined, a suitable splint applied,
and they were left lying in rows on straw in a ladnya
(shelter of boughs) till such time as our ambulances
could go for them. Many, alas! were beyond human
aid, and a sad enclosure of mounds and little wooden
crosses is now all that marks the site of the aforetime
dressiny-station.

“The ambulances usually went up and down in
convoys, and some nine or ten or fourteen patients
often arrived at the same time, hence they had to wait
their turn in the Admission Tent lying on. their
stretchers. We had white ‘Reception Tent stretchers,’
with white mackintosh over them. This was a special
invention of our own, and many medical visitors have
complimented me on the system. The patient—always
in his dirty, blood-stained, war-stained clothes—was put
on these, lifted on to a table about size and heicht of
an operating-table, and on this all his clothes were
removed, and he was washed, put into clean pyjamas,
and then transferred to the ward. This was much better
than washing in bed, and also much more thorough.
We had always meant to give baths to our patients in
this tent, but they were far too seriously injured ever to
think of baths. Sometimes a dying man had to be

250 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

carried straight to a ward ; some, alas !—nine—were dead
on arrival.

“This was hardly to be wondered at, when one
saw the pass which the ambulances climbed down, The
journey took some two hours, and was along the steepest
of mountain roads, which zigzagged with sharp hairpin
bends down the precipitous slopes. Convoys of food and
ammunition often blocked the way, but the amount of
consideration given to the ambulances was wonderful.
Had the cars been loaded, the ascent would have
been impossible, for even when empty the ambulances
(fortunately light Ford cars for two cases only) had often
tobe pushed up. The soldiers used to know the difficult
corners for us, and sometimes would wait to give a push at
the right moment, and the Sister attendants also acquired
the knack of jumping out at the right moment and giving
a push. The drivers had to wait to cool the engines
twice always, sometimes oftener. Only one mishap
occurred on this dangerous road. In trying to pass an
ammunition convoy, just when there were only a few
inches to spare, the inside wheel knocked against a large
stone, threw out the steering, and the car turned over
the edge. Most fortunately there were no wounded in
the car, and both occupants escaped with a severe shaking
and a few bruises. The car was put on the road again
at once by a contingent of soldiers, and went on for its
load of patients who were eventually safely landed at the
Hospital.

“The cases were of the worst possible variety—.
mostly ‘double,’ ze. with two compound fractures—two
wounds in different parts. One man was reputed to have
th'rty-five shot holes in him. With a single compound
fracture these cases would, many of them, have been
considered worthy of special nurses in our home
hospitals. We had three nurses to forty patients.

2 dead

nN one
The
>epest
airpin
dand
Int of
erful.
have
ances
often
ficult
ish at
uired
iving
vines
shap
SS an

few
arge
Over
d in
king
gain
r its
the

y—.
two
ave
und
een
me
nts,

OSTROVO 251

Gangrene was rife, and the constant amputations were a
terrible trial in the operating-tent. This was frantically
busy—one splendid little nurse knocked up after the first
week, and as we could not possibly spare another, the
rest of the work of those terrible few weeks had to be
undertaken by one nurse and an orderly. It meant
working far into every night, for all the ward dressings
had to be sterilised in a single small steriliser. The
nurses worked absolutely heroically, and so did the
orderlies, and the rapidity with which the latter fell into
line was amazing. The suitable ones were soon valu-
able members of our Staff. One brave little orderly
joined the long roll of victims of malignant malaria, and
now a soldier's cross marks her grave in the sad little
Serb cemetery in Sa’ nika. Our first recular admission
was on 19th September, and in the following eight weeks
we admitted 523 cases—of these, sixty died. As soon
as a case was fit to travel at all we evacuated to a French
Evacuation Hospital near Ostrovo station. At this
hospital the patients simply rested on stretchers, and
were given some food till an ambulance train could be
found with room for them. It grieved us sorely, indeed,
to know that the wounds we had cleansed and guarded
so carefully would often have to remain unattended two
days ere the men could reach a base hospital. Later on,
when the pressure became less, the Sisters used to beg
to be sent with a bag of dressings on the day following
the patients’ evacuation, to see if they were still waiting
for a train. The Sisters would take boiled water and
lotions, and manage everything themselves. The
French doctor always allowed them to dress our old
patients.

them as comfortable as possible and keep the wounds

252 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

clean. One remarkable case was that of an officer
who was shot right through; the bullet entered at the
lower end of the breast-bone and emerged between the
lower end of the shoulder-blade and the spine. He was
greatly distressed on admission, but the quiet and
comfort of a bed and pillows and careful feeding worked
wonders, and he went out quite fit apparently. The
men’s appreciation of the beds was very great. ‘ Dobra,
Sestra,’ was the most frequent utterance in the wards.
The improvement in the first twenty-four hours was
wonderful, and it was always sad work to tell them they
must move. There was seldom a bed empty even fora
night. Each day we informed our D.M.S. how many
we could discharge, and as many were sent in as were
sent out.

“During those weeks our X-ray apparatus! was in
great demand, and far into every night we were develop-
ing plates, for in spite of most careful treatment snd
erection of the dark tents, the light seemed to get in
in the daytime. One hundred and seventy-two plates
were taken and developed, and about 250 cases were
screened. There was not a great deal of localising done,
as we found the track of the bullet so patent in most
cases that we thought it more practicable to follow
these tracks. In the wards all the trained Sisters were
working hard at dressings; the tidying and cleanine of
the wards and giving food to the patients had to be left
in the hands of our orderlies and the Serb bolnichars.
These soon became very deft, and understood from signs
what the Sisters wanted done. The size of a Serbian’s
appetite after many days in the trenches is better
imagined than described. They ate what would serve
half a dozen of us, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was

' Valuable help was rendered to the X-ray department by Captain
Riddell, R.A.M.C., from Salonika.

ret

officer
at the
-en the
le was
st and
vorked

The
Dobra,
wards,
'S Was
1 they
1 fora
many
; were

vas in
velop-
t and
ret in
plates
were
done,
Most
ollow
were
ne of
e left
hars,
signs
yian's
trek
serve
was

aptain

OSTROVO

wonderful the improvement; in a few days they began
to look quite fat. And with their warm, comfortable
beds and regular food, in spite of their wounds they were
a wonderfully merry lot, and the chorus of ‘ Doéva dans,’
when one went into the ward and greeted them all,
had a very happy ring in it. The dressings were
often terrible—compound fractures with horrible septic
wounds needing thorough washing every day. It was
often necessary to give anesthetics and do minor
operations in the wards—the number done in the
operating-tent was 350. The operating-tent was a
great success, the single marquee with double wall
answering particularly well, as the light was so good.
This was the gift of the ‘ Ayrshire Farmers.’ We made
locking cupboards of boxes for our precious store of
instruments, all too few, because we were only equipped
for 100 surgical beds. Stools and small tables were
made of wood from the equipment cases and packages,
and we warmed the tent by having two of the small
lucifer stoves underneath the operating-table. We
found these also a great success, and very little trouble
to manage,” !
“MACEDONIA, 15th C-tober 1916.

“. .. Since my last letter we have had the cere-
mony of the consecration of the Hospital performed by
the Serbian Church. The Serbs took a great deal of
trouble to make the function a very happy one. Colonel
Sondermeyer arranged everything, and the Crown
Prince and his Staff, and General Vassitch and his
Staff, were all present. We also asked the British
Liaison Officer to come, but he was unable to do so,
and Colonel Bearn represented the British Army for
us. After the ceremony the Prince went round the
wards and spoke to many of the patients. He was

1 Yr. Bennett’s report.

254 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

really charming in every way. He said many nice
things about the Hospital, and afterwards sent «
message saying King Peter would write to me. Afte:
the promenade round the Hospital we had lunch in ou
mess-tent, especially prepared by the Serbian Staff o
the Hospital. The Prince, though very grave in all hi:
ways, relaxed somewhat, and I think enjoyed himself
at all events, he said he was coming back to see u:
again. He fairly frequently passes here in his car
The General is in command of the division to whict
we are attached, and asked me to dinner the same night

“We have, up to now, admitted 356 patients, anc
the Hospital is full. Each day we receive as many a!
we discharge. . . .”

Shortly after the visit of the Crown Prince to thi
Ostrovo Hospital, the following letter was received a
the S.W.H. Headquarters :

* SERBIAN LEGATION, 195 QUEEN’S GATE,
LONDON, S.W., 12th February 1917.

“Dear Miss Marr,—I had recently again new
from Salonika what splendid work your Hospitals ar
doing. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, durin;
his visit to your ‘American Unit’ in Ostrovo, expresse:
to everybody his great satisfaction and admiration fo
the untiring devotion of your members under Dr. Bennett
May I take this opportunity to thank you again, an
to ask you to convey our thanks to your organizin;
secretary who is working with such splendid result it
America, Miss Kathleen Burke, and through her to th
whole American public who are so generously and un
tiringly contributing to enable your Hospitals to carr:
on in helping our brave soldiers where the need i
greatest. We shall never forget this help rendere:

ly nice
sent a

After
1 in our
Staff of
: all his
Limself ;
see us
iS Car.
» which
e night,
Its, and
nany as

- to the
‘ived at

n news
tals are
, during
pressed
tion for
3ennett.
in, and
ranizing
esult in
r to the
and un-
O carry
need is

endered

OSTROVO

CROWN PRINCI

SERBIAN

Vb LIS PREG:

7 | sear URETET

OSTROVO 255

by the great British and American nations to us in the
time of our fight for life or death.—Yours sincerely,
“Jov. M. Jovanovitcn,
Serbian Minister.”

* * * * * * *

The S.W.H. Transport Column, under Mrs. Harley,
had its camp in the village cf Ostrovo, two miles distant
from the Hospital. It worked along the same roads as
the ambulances attached to the Hospital, and did very
valuable work now and later. Its story is told in
another chapter,

For a description of a dressing-station and of the
roads along which the cars had to be driven we are
indebted again to Mr. Stebbing. ‘And these little
Serbian dressing-stations themselves—the Great War
could show few better illustrations, few more pitiful or
pathetic illustrations, of what are to all intents and pur-
poses the front line of the Medical Service, than the
dressing-stations of the Serbian Army out Gornichevo
way or on the Drina below Kaimatchalan during
Sepiember 1916.

“ The Gornichevo dressing-station was the first one to
which our ambulances went up. It was moved up as the
army advanced, but the name may be left to it. Picture
a handful of small bell tents, mostly old and in poor
repair, pitched at the side of the mountain road, the
ground—earth or rock—inside covered with a thin layer
of straw ; and on this straw lay the wounded, the severely
wounded cases, many already beyond the help of man,
even when armed with the highest surgical skill. There
was no room for the sitting cases inside the tents,
although many of these had bad wounds. They lay
OF Sat outside on a little straw whenever that could
be procured. Hard by was a slichtly larger tent,
the floor of earth or mud, which formed the mess and

Seeiata

256 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

sleeping accommodation of the Serbian Medical Staff

the station. There was no luxury here. The Serbi

doctors led a hard, severe, campaicning life, accompani

by a terrific stress of work as the wounded poured in

the tiny station, in numbers which often entirely swampe

its power to deal with them. Up in this place tl

wounded lay after receiving dressings, until they cou

be removed to the Casualty Clearing Stations. Fro
the day of the fight for the Gornichevo crest, this statio
with the shortest interval of rest, usually utilised in moy
ing forward to keep pace with the advance—the rapi
advance—of the fizhtine Serbs, was overflowing wit
wounded. The majority of the sitting cases were re
moved in carts, in fact in every sort of conveyanc
procurable. Those who could walk were dispatched o
foot. The greater number of the severely wounde
were removed in the ambulances of Mrs. Harley’
Transport Column and our own, and were brough
down to our Hospital. The number of lives which the
Hospital saved for the Serbians must have been con
siderable in those days of severe fighting both from here
and from Kaimatchalan, Too high praise cannot be
given to the Serbian doctors who had charge of these
dressiny-stations, for the manner in which they per-
formed these first dressings. They earned high com-
mendation from our own doctors and R.A.M.C. officers
alike...

Phe todd to ‘Gornichevs was an extraordinary
track for an ambulance car, even a Ford one, when
we first made its acquaintance, And, mind you, all the
ambulances were driven by the girl chauffeurs... . But
the road to Gornichevo, bad as it Was, was nothing to
the Drina. I have said that this was the dressing-
station below Kaimatchalan (where the big fights of

18th to 30th September took place), situated some 5000

il Staff of
» Serbian
ympanied
ured into
swamped
lace the
ley could
From
3 station,
in mov-
he rapid
ng with
vere re-
veyance
ched on
rounded
larley's
brought
lich the
en con-
m here
Inot be
f these
"y per-
h com-
officers

‘dinary
when
all the
But
ing to
‘ssing-
hts of
: 5000

OSTROVO 257

feet up the mountain-side. I have seen a great deal of
the Himalayas, both eastern and western, and have
tramped and ridden miles in these beautiful mountains
on tracks and bridle-paths rocky enough, and steep and
narrow enough, to please any one. But it never entered
my head in those days that I should see cars using, and
be in cars using, such tracks. I should never have
thought it possible that cars would negotiate such tracks,
And yet this is what the S.W.H. girl drivers had to do
on the Drina, probably the finest feat girls have ever
done. . . . That we did not have serious accidents is
due as much as anything else to the skilful driving and
extraordinary coolness of the girl drivers.”

In October some reinforcernents were sent from
Scotland to the personnel of the Unit. From the
diary of an orderly, who afterwards became a driver
in the Transport Column, we get some ‘‘snap-
shots” of the life in the camp. She describes her
arrival :

“Passed right along the very edge of the water for
several kilometres and stopped at the station of Ostrovo.
White sand on the shore of the lake bright in the moon-
light—a row of tall poplars shadowed against the water
beyond. Not a soul to be seen on the platform at first ;
later on a girl with a lantern in a straw hat appeared—
R of the Harley Unit. Mrs. Harley, General
French's sister, had a motor ambulance Unit here at
Ostrovo, sent out by the S.W.H. She also ran a kind
of canteen for feeding the soldiers to and from the front,
as they came through in the trains... . A short wait
of two hours—from 2 till 4 a.m. at R——’s camp fire, at
one end of the station—cocoa and gingerbread. Drive
to Dr. Bennett's Hospital, about four and a half kilos
back along the side of the lake, in a Ford van driven by
a girl with short hair and very short skirts, at a furious

Hf
I,
1)
{
I,

siinemune ee

258 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

pace along the roughest of tracks, with awful bumps an
bounces.

“ Arrived at Hospital camp very much shaken uy
White tents amongst a clump of great green trees
moonlight—white-capped night Sisters with lantern
Lay down in their tent till the morning. Morning ligt
in the elm trees—mazpics—white tents—high mountair
beyond, Cocks crowing hoarsely. Guns from behin
a big mountain range in the north, Kaimatchala:
Interviews with Miss Jack, administrator, and after
wards with Dr. Bennett. On duty in the wards.

“ The Hospital ambulances—at that time four wer
running—and the cars of the Harley Unit at Ostrov
village brought the wounded in from. the dressing
stations. One of these was high up on the slopes o
the mountain of Kaimatchalan, which had been captures
by the Serbs a week or two earlier—the other one a
the foot of the mountain. We are about due south o
the Moglena Range, of which Kaimatchalan is th
highest... . Our hours on duty are—up at 6 o'clock
breaktast at 6.30, on duty 7.30. Off duty about ;
in the evening, About two hours off during the day
Dancine reels in the mess tent after duty hours, for
which | had to supply the music from an old violin costing
30 frances bought in Salonika. . . . Moonlight nights.
Sad-sounding train whistles ii. the mountains. Later
on an American engine with a siren which wailed wildly
through the darkness. After dark, hour-long intoned
recitations of national songs coming from the Serb Camp
accompanied by the ‘guslar.’. . . The guslar is a one-
stringed instrument shaped like a mandolin, but longer,
and held between the knees and played with a bent bow
shaped like a double bass bow.

“tst November.—Went up to the upper dressing-
station as attendant orderly in a car driven by one of the

LS
mps and

ken up.
trees
anterns,
ing light
ountains
behind
itchalan,
ds after-
ds.
ur were
Ostrovo
ressing-
| pes of
aptured
one at
outh of
is the
o'clock,
bout 7
he day.
urs, for
costing
nights.
Later
| wildly
intoned
» Camp
a one-
longer,
nt bow

essing-
of the

OSTROV.) 250

chauffeurs. An awful climb and tremendously rough
and narrow tracks up the mountain—boiling engines
A great and wonderful view over the Macedonian
Plain towards Mount Olympus, and of the whole lake
of Ostrovo. Track up the hill crowded with many
coloured throngs of transport of various nations—Serb.
French, British, native Turks, and Macedonian.
Donkeys, mules, oxen, horses, carts, Ford vans, and
our ambulances. The little village of Batechin half-
way up, the inhabitants of which are) Roumanian.
Curiosity of native children about our clothes, especially
our stockings. They kept lifting the hems of our skirts
to see exactly what we wore on our legs. A great
desire to know whether we had any hair on our heads
under our caps.

“The dressing-station high up on a ridge of the
mountains. We brought down two stretcher cases, one
of them Milenko, who was put in our ward and became
a yreat favourite. For about a year afterwards he used
to send post cards from Bizert in Africa, where he was
sent to convalesce. Coming back in the twilight.

“19th November.—News of the fall of Monastir.
Many nights playing to the Serbs in our wards, Learn-
ing Serbian songs. Also sometimes to the British
Tommies, invalids from the M.T. companies who were
in one of the wards. Sunday services—Dr. Bennett
officiating. Playing hymns on the fiddle—there was no
other instrument.

“ January.—I had one of those innocent standiny
jokes with him (Marko, a patient in the ward) that
went on all the time. The idea was, that his heart

sometimes departed from his body and went away to

visit his wife and children in Serbia, so that when I

tried his pulse the: was nothing to be felt. But after a

minute or so it returned, and then it was my business to

OE Nt Hee te oe Nein Nini

260 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

tell him the news that it had brought from Serbia-
whether his wife and two sons were well, but mos
important of all, whether or not Mileva had run awat
with a ‘Schvalia’ (German). He always insisted tha
she had, but that he had remained faithful still; and ji
was my duty to contradict him and assure him that she
was always thinking about him.

‘* Dushan, who lay in the opposite bed, quite a youtl
and very bright and merry, was always very much
pleased with this performance.”

On tgth November Monastir fell, and after the
splendid advance of the Serbs on Kaimatchalan
(8284 feet) the Hospital was left behind.

To connect it again with the advancing army an
outpost of thirty beds was opened by Dr. Bennett at
Dobroveni in the beginning of January 1917, Dr. Cooper
was in charge, and volunteers from amongst the Staff at
Ostrovo were sent in turn to work there. Dr. Bennett
reports favourably on this piece of work when writing
on 1ith February. ‘1 have good work to report, done
by the outpost operating station—so good that the
Russians (a number of whom had been admitted) have
recognised it by giving Dr. Cooper a decoration. [ am
so pleased that on the Dobrudja side they are not getting
al/ the recognition!”

To keep up with the still advancing Serbian Army,
this outpost hospital was moved in April several miles
farther forward, where they worked till October.

We get an account of the place from Dr. Cooper
and one of the orderlies.

‘““SKOTCHIVAR, September 1917.

“ The outpost hospital was stationed at first in
Dobraveni in Macedonia, on the left bank of the Czerna
River, and was then moved to the opposite bank by the

OSTROVO. _ : iv

‘S

serbia—
ut most
In away
ted that
; and it
hat she |

a youth
’ much

DRESSING STATION AT DOBROVENIT,

fer the
tchalan

my an
nett at
Sooper — |
staff at
ennett
Writing
, done
at the
) have
I am
retting

DRESSING STATION AT SKOTCHIVAR,

Army,
miles

/ooper

Qt 7.
‘st in
zerma

yy the

-Aememneencn$ Sra hssensnancntarensuepestbeeeeninensincnres

OSTROVO 261

French, who wished the Italians and French to be on
one side of the river, and the Serbians and British on
the other. The station remained there until the end of
April, and then, on account of a very heavy bombing
attack, we were moved to Skotchivar, about seven kilo-
metres nearer the front, also close to the river. Miss
Bedford was at the new camp, and arranged the pitching
of the tents, while I remained behind and saw that
everything was sent away, and cleaned up rubbish, and
burnt off the incinerator, so that a tidy camp was left.
We were not so fortunate at the new site, for it had
been a horse camp, and it took us days to clear up old tins,
paper, and pieces of clothing. When the hot weather
came on the flies also began, and before long millions
were everywhere; all our efforts were very little use.
Wire fly traps, issued by the Red Cross, were amongst
the most useful methods of destruction. We succeeded
in keeping flies out of our storeroom, which was partly
dug out and built up with stones, roofed in with wooden
beams and a tarpaulin. We lined the whole of this
with mosquito nets, and with a few fly papers; there
were never more than about a dozen to be seen. We
treated the kitchen in the same way, but it didn’t avail
much, as the door was constantly open and the flies
rushed in. There the trouble was, that whatever we
did, they got into the food, and it was not an uncommon
thing to find an odd Hy in your pudding.

‘The work at this dressing-station was very good
for three or four weeks... . When I left on 20th
August, twenty-three beds were occupied out of thirty-
six, and all the patients were ina satisfactory condition.
The bomb wounds, in my experience, were the worst ;
so many of them developed gas gangrene, and were
most difficult to do anything with.

“The thanks of the whole dressing-station are due

262, SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

to Captain Radivanovitch for his unfailing kindness t
every one.” ?!

From An OrbeEr.y’s Diary

“4th /une—Lett Ostrovo with three Sisters and on
other orderly, A very slow journey by rail, round th
lake to Sarovitch and on to Banitza, where we were met
by two French cars, and conveyed the rest of the distanc:
to Skotchivar. The camp itself was about a kilo on the
near side of the village, in a small bare glen. It was on
the north slope and caught all the sun from the south. . _ .
Many of the tents were right on the steep side of the
hill... . The dressing-station consisted of thirty beds
and an operating theatre. There were some t™»mendous
dust-storms at this time, winds sweeping down the roads
so that you couldn't see a yard in front of you. The
chauffeurs used to come in with face, hair, eyebrows,
and eyelashes thickly powdered with yellow dust. On
several occasions the tents were blown flat, and letters
and papers were swept all over the hillside. One of
these hurricanes was accompanied by tremendous sheets
of rain, in the midst of which several tents went down.
In about ten minutes all the low ground below the camp
was in flood, and a dashing river was rushing down the
little gully beside the kitchen, carrying pots and pans
along with it as it went. The rain generally cleared the
air a little and killed the flies, but on the other hand it
put out my incinerator fire, so that | could not personally
welcome it. We all suffered from tremendous thirst at
this time, and the only thing for it was to drink gallons
of weak tea, as the water, which had to be boiled, was
hardly ever cool enough to be pleasant for drinking... .”

The hospital at Ostrovo and the dressing-station

' Dr. Cooper's report.

‘S

Iness to

und one
ind the
re met
listance
on the
was on
Bete
of the
y beds
endous
> roads
The
brows,
ee AOIy
letters
Yne of
sheets
down.
camp
yn the
/ pans
ed the
and it
onally
irst at
allons
Lowas

tation

OSTROVO 263

were not infrequently raided by German aeroplanes ; the
women at work paid little heed to the bombardments.

“OsTROVO, 24/4 September 1917.

“|. . T wonder if you ever received a letter from
me reporting how Dr. de Garis, Sisters Saunders and
Angell went on with an operation during an air raid.
Sister Saunders continued the anesthetic, and Sister
Angell went on with assistant’s work. It was a particu-
larly difficult operation, extracting a bullet from the back
of the palate. Only those who know what it is to have
bombs falling all round them can realise what an
amount of presence of mind and courage such a thing
takes. There were fifteen aeroplanes aiming at them,
and the camp next to them, which suffered very badly.
The girls’ presence of mind and courage during air raids
and bombardments have been a source of amazement and
admiration to me. No one ever wanted to go to the
shelters when the whistle used to blow. It was really

quite hard work to get them out of the wards.
“ AGNES BENNETT.”

In September 1917 Dr. Bennett was obliged to resign
on account of ill-health; her place as C.M.O. was taken
by Dr. de Garis.

Writing from Cairo on her way to Australia, Dr.
Bennett says:

“Dear Mrs. Russett,— ... Iam safely thus far
on my journey, and am now awaiting a transport to my
part of the world... . I do hope the Unit is getting
on well—my heart is still in it... . I was given an
exceedingly nice send-off by the Serbs, who spoke
most appreciatively of the Hospital. At the dinner at
Ostrovo they had a Russian officer who made a speech
of thanks (in Russian) for what we had done for his

———

st en par

“rheeaenesne SREB Sans gO I aaa: nye Phe semen siserestatnt een

264 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

troops. I hope I shall be able to tell you in persor
some day. Acyes BENNETT.”

For another year, until November 1918, the Hospita
remained at Ostrovo and did good work, principall;
medical. In November it moved to Vranja in Serbia
where under Dr. Emslie it has had a very interesting
career. This is given in detail in another chapter.

The quotations which follow are from Dr. de Garis
letters, telling of the work during the year November
1917-1918, whilst the Unit was still stationed at Ostrovo,
and of the violent storm which swept the Camp in
February. The patient's letter with which this chapter
closes is touching. Through the broken English, one
feels the ready appreciation of any service rendered, and
the genuine gratitude for it so characteristic of the Serb.

“OSTROVO, 24¢h October 1917.

- . . We are allowed by Colonel Stoitch to admit
soldiers of any nationality, and also civilians. I have not
done the latter to any extent (save for a run of about six
or eight very ill with malaria during Dr. Bennett's illness
at the outpost station). However, I have opened a
ward of ten beds for women and children, and have
admitted two women into it two days ago. These
women had previously been treated by us at their homes.
Male civilians are put with the soldiers.”

“MACEDONIA, 4th June 1918.

... Sisters Angell and Aitken went down on
Friday to Salonika, being lent to the Crown Prince’s
Hospital for a month: at the end of this time I shall
replace them with another two. I am going to Salonika
to-morrow myself, to attend a medica! meeting at which

Ss OSTROVO 265

Th “To begin with, a week earlier, we had three days’
eng snow, so that the previous Sunday was spent by the

person Dr. M'Ilroy is reading a paper, and to see how the two
TT.” borrowed Sisters are faring.
‘On Sunday we had a number of Serbian children
lospital here for the afternoon—we brought them and took them
ncipally | back in our cars—General Vassitch was also present.
Serbia, The children entertained us with Boy Scout drill and
resting some recitations, etc. The patients had made each child
z a toy—chiefly rag dolls and balls,
> Garis’ “The Hospital has been very full this week. We
vember have admitted a woman and child to-day, the first for a
strovo, long while. I have our full quota of beds up for the
imp in military cases (the garage sergeant having devised an
chapter ingenious method of mending the beds broken in the
sh, one storm), and, in addition, have a ridge and pole tent
ed, and up as an ‘extra’ for women and children. Without
. Serb. these extra beds, I would not feel justified in admitting
| civilian cases, owing to the demand for our beds, Our
1917. cases are principally medical.”
admit “OsTROVO, 26th February 1918.
aeetige “Dear Miss Kemp,—I cabled to you on Menday
sag aaa about the destruction of tents wrought by Sunday’s at
illness hurricane, but from my cable you can hardly conceive a
ned a the condition of affairs here. 4]
1 have d
iy

homes,

personnel in digging their tents out of the snow ; then (if

came a thaw and frost, and further thawing, and so on. ay

There is still, indeed, some snow lying about. i.
ee “Well, on Saturday night it began to rain, and the i
vn on whole camp was muddy and damp, and tent pegs :
rince’s refused to hold. About 2 a.m, on Sunday began the “|
| shall hurricane; by 3 a.m. most of the Unit was up en- it
lonika deavouring to save the tents from collapsing. By

which 8 a.m. practically every tent in the place had collapsed,

266 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

the only exceptions being the telephone tent (saved by
the devoted exertions of its occupant), the dressing tent.
Dr. Rose's and Matron’s tents, and one tent in Ward
V.a, all of which had poles standing and sides collapsed,
and Ward I.a (twenty beds), which weathered the storm
successfully and was proudly erect. The garage and our
kitchen were unroofed, and the patients’ kitchen suffered
only slightly. The new store (made of flooring and
tarpaulin) also came through successfully. The tent
stores (groceries, linen, splints, etc.) were scattered
abroad. The X-ray and dark-room tents were both in
ribbons. Such a scene of desolation has to be seen
to be realised.

“The Unit presented an interesting spectacle also :
most of them (including myself) were clad in pyjamas,
with stockings drawn over the legs, and shoes and a
greatcoat on, and hair streaming wherever the wind
listed. But none of us cared !

“The patients stuck to their beds till the tents
collapsed on them, and even then had to be ordered
up. Fortunately no one was hurt, save for a bruise
or two.

“There were no fires, though we had three narrow
escapes. Braziers and stoves were all watered, and
great care was taken. Luckily there was no rain, and
there was a moon, We counted these three facts our
crowning ‘marcies.’ We have had fine, calm, sunny
weather since, also, in which to cope with the situation!

“It was obvious that the only thing to do was to
evacuate all the patients, and_ all, except seventeen
(convalescent workers or sick éo/nichars), were dis-
patched by train. We sent them down in ambulances
(no cars were damaged except for their mica windows,
some of which were broken), and got them away by the
‘Sanitary Train.’

ived by
ig tent,

Ward
lapsed,
storm
nd our
uffered
g and
e tent
ittered
oth in

seen

also :
amas,
ind a
wind

tents
Jered
ruise

rrow
and
and
; Our
inny
on!
s to
teen
dis-
Ices
WS,
the

OSTROVO 267

“Once the patients were gone, we had a ‘stand up’
breakfast in the kitchen, and then (the storin was now
lulling) had Ward V.a fixed, and the fallen part erected,
to serve for the convalescent patients, and for a sewing-
room for mending tents. Into half I.\ we put all bedding
and the other half served as a mess-tent. By this time
we were really a merry lot, as the storm was over, the
patients were gone, and we had been fed, and had nothing
but ourselves to worry about. Sister K—— had been
transferred from the sick-tent to a Serbian hut, kindly
lent us by the interpreter. 1 examined all tents cursorily,
and all the do/nichars having been sent over after lunch
by the Serb commandant to be at our disposal, I decided
to erect the mess-tent (after mending), the sick-tent, two
of the magazine tents, and most of the occupied personnel
tents. Of the last all except two had to be put up
without their flies, and nearly every tent erected
needed some mending first. All the least torn were first
dealt with.

“At the present moment, zc. in three days, we have
the whole of Ward V. up, half of it furnished and full of
patients, and the whole of Ward I. up and half of it ready
for patients (half is a temporary ‘magazine’ and sewing-
room). The sick-tent and women’s ward and half of
Ward II. are also erected, but of these three only
the sick-tent is furnished. The theatre and reception
tents are ready for use, so we are again a hospital.

“IT anticipate getting beds ready at the rate of
twenty per day, until we have 120; after that the
difficulty will begin, as two ward tents (2.2. 20 beds)
are so badly torn that I scrapped them and used their
canvas to repair others, and two more are very unlikely
peta and will certainly take a long time to get into
order.

the X-ray and dark-room tents at present appear

268 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

almost hopeless, but we may get one make shift tent ou
of the two,

“Of course our great fear is another hurricane,
though we can hardly have such bad luck again as to
strike another thaw at the same time. Our newer tents
collapsed as well as our old ones, but they did not tear
as the old ones did.

“Of course the electric installation is, at least
temporarily, ruined, but the engine is all right, so some
weeks should again find it working,

“The dispensary suffered rather severely, bottles
being broken, and their contents hopelessly mixed.

“In the store some home-made Jam was spilled (a
loss a jamless Unit deeply deplores) and scores of evgs
were broken. We had just got a big supply the day
before the cyclone. All thermometers and glass syringes
and medicine glasses were broken, with an occasional
exception.

“TI am sure we need a new X-ray tent and dark-room
tent, and will be glad if you can order them at once.
Other things, of course, will be required, but I shall be
able to deal better with our wants next week.

‘Many beds were broken, and many small comforts
blown away and spoiled. It was really sad to see our
beautiful comfortable camp, of which we are all so proud,
such a wreck.

“Sister Maitland arrived yesterday. The syringes
she brought with her were hailed with delight, as there
was scarcely more than one whole syringe left in the
place after the disaster.

“We are all proud to say that we admitted five
patients this morning—-we were not guite ready for them,
but we managed, and to-night we are ready for twenty
more, and are really a hospital again,

“You will be pleased to know that the whole Unit

S
ent out

rricane,
1 as to
r tents
Ot tear

least
) some

bottles
ed.

led (a
F evgs
e day
ringes
sional

-room
once.
all be

forts
2 our
roud,

inges
there
. the

five
dem,

enty

Unit

OSTROVO 269

worked so admirably that it is hardly fair to specify
names of those who excelled; but 1, personally, feel
deeply indebted to Miss Tubb, who fed the Unit
luxuriously ; Miss Lindsay, who made lunches for the
patients on their departures; Miss Greenlees, who was
usei il everywhere; Sister Saunders, who, as always, is a
tower of strength; and Miss Brown, who discovered and
put out a threatened fire. The Sisters worked hard for
their patients’ safety, and everybody did whatever offered
and never a grumble was heard.

“Since the collapse of the tents, the do/nichars
have been beyond praise. It is they who have done all
the erection of the wards and the mending of the torn
tents. Nikola, the theatre do/nichar, saved practically
everything in his theatre (which he loves as if it were
his child), only a few glass dishes being broken, and then
he mended the tent itself, and to-day he proudly polished
the drums to make it a theatre to rejoice our hearts.

“In fact, | am proud of my Unit, and think you will
be the same. (Sgd.) Mary bE Garis.”

Shortly .fter the date of this Unit's removal up-
country in the wake of the Serbian Army, the following
letter, which bears witness to its efficiency, was received
from the Red Cross Commissioner in Salonika :

“BRITISH SALONIKA FORCE, 3%d JMJarch 1919.

“Deak Mrs. Huntir,—lI am sure it will be of great
interest to you to refer to the 3 | Supplement of the
London Gazette of Tuesday, 21st January 1919
(published on Wednesday, 22nd January 1919), in which
appears the dispatch of General Sir George F. Milne,
K.C.B., D.S.O., the General Officer Commanding-in-
Chief, British Salonika Force, dated General Head-
quarters, 1st December 1918.

shia jena sani aleeenpiiiimeaumnss ry

+74 vetgant sel licse hy fat

wich inne

tii. a II

270 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

“In this dispatch the Commander-in-Chief reviews
the operations of the British Army in Macedonia from
the tst October 1917 to the tst December 1918, and
in the course of his report he inserted the following
paragraph, which I am sure will be very pleasing to
your Committee, namely :

“*T desire to take this Opportunity of expressing
my admiration of the work of the Scottish Women's
Hospitals Organizations serving with the Serbian
Army.’

* With kind regards, yours sincerely,

(Sud.) H. Fitzpatrick,
Lieut.-Colonel, Commissioner.
“Mrs. Janes T. Hunter,
Chairman, Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign
Service, 2 St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh.”

LETTER FROM A PATIENT AT Ostrovo

“In my thirty-eight years of life I never had an
Opportunity to be in hospital and estimate the value of
a hospital service except now in Scottish Women’s
Hospital in Ostrovo. The work and the services and
self-sacrifice of this patriotic and hospitable people we
cannot sufficiently repay nor reward. The Director of
the Hospital is Dr. de Garis, who is in charge of the
whole Hospital and its personnel. Miss Dr. de Garis
is a woman of medium build, physically well developed,
energetical, and of serious look. Her every look, her every
step, is of great importance and significance. You could
see her every morning going over the Hospital area and
inspecting some swamps, which she formerly ordered to
he levelled with earth, A few minutes after, you see
her in a hospital circle, and so on, until the visit of
patients commences. There js nO nook in a hospital

eviews

t from
8, and
lowing
ing to
essing
men's
erbian

reign

1 an
ue of
1eENn’s
and
‘ we
roof
the
‘ALIS
ped,
rery
ruld
and
| to

see

PeeTPPENeRTetneneNe eenemeRnRERRR SHEET C eR yRERtee cnn: rerenpyenimenry

OSTROVO 271

where she does not see it, or looks into, with the
assistance of her truce and worthy Sisters, who with
motherly care look for Serbian soldiers. After & o'clock
commences the morning visit of patients. She steps
into her ward, and with mild and courteous tone voes
to every patient, and with smile on her face asks in
Serbian, ‘Aa@ko vi? Bolt glava, noga, ruka grudt,’
and as a rule always questions the patient what was
he complaining of when he was first admitted to
hospital. Every patient answers promptly her questions
just the way he feels, and she understands everything
that soldiers tell her in) Serbian, During the visit a
Sister is always present with her, in order that she may
know by her prescription what medicine to give to the
patient. The visit usually lasts till 12 o'clock. At 12
the bugler sounds for lunch, and Dr. de Garis, with her
Sisters, goes for lunch.

“After lunch there should be rest for her, but, being
brave among the braves, she avoids it, and with book
on her table and knitting in her hands she reads her
book and knits her socks. She does two works jn one
and the same time. If there is urgent case for an
operation, which she always performs with skili, alert-
ness, and success, she immediately leaves her book and
drops her knitting, going quickly to the operating theatre.
If new patient comes to the Hospital, she never lets him
Wait five minutes unless she examines him. The Sisters
are detailed one in each ward on day duty, and one to
four wards on night duty, with the addition of several
orderlies.

“In my ward was on day duty Sister She rises
at 6.30 in the morning. After her breakfast she goes

oreet

fOUEs fy it

: aS
us with good morning, and asking every patient how he

toeonetee§ fonts te eee

272, SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

slept, and patients promptly responding to her, ‘ Dobro
Sestra.” Now begins her work. She opens the closet
with medicines, and gives his own to every patient.
Then she goes on with dressing of patients from the
surgical operations, uttering and chatting with patients
in Serbian, which she cannot yet distinctly pronounce.
When she is about ready with her work it is 12 o'clock.
In the interval the patients are always asking her for
cigarettes, chocolate, and post cards. And you must
believe that there is not a single patient that our good
Sister would not satisfy with whatever is possible.

* For several days [I was watching the Sister, how
she takes out of her ward one of our seriously ill patients,
supporting him under his left arm and giving him her
unbrella to support himself with his right arm, walking
with him in the shade that the great big trees in Hospital
area are giving us. Aware of how long this walk should
last, she carries the pillow under her left arm, and only
looks for suitable place and then puts her pillow on
the ground, resting his head easily on the pillow. Then
she sits to his left, asking him how does he feel. The
same is with able Sister ——, for whom I have never
enough praise. She is giving so many sacrifices in
ministering to our patients and otherwise. that we must
really admire her. I never expected to have such a
treatment in Macedonia. Besides her nursing work
she devotes most of her time to seriously i'l cases,
and finds for every one of them a word of spiritual
comfort. This ie what puts her in the rank of foremost
nursing Sisters. Having been in Serbia, Miss
knows the Serbs and their thorny path through which they
have gone, and that is why she can speak to Serbian
patients heart to heart. It is impossible for me to write
about all Sisters, because | don’t know their names in
order to mention them all. But to be fair with them,

S
Dobro,

> closet
patient.
ym the
yatients
10UuNCce.
»'clock.
her for
1 must
r good

r, how
tients,
im her
alking
ospital
should
1 only
ow oon
Then

The
never
es in
- must
uch a
work
cuses,
ritual
emost

1 they
rbian
write
les in
them,

OSTROVO 273
and not wanting to go into long discussions, I must say,
for we ail know, that they are worthy daughters of the
great inglish race, conscious of their work and duty,
They fully merit to be called Sisters, and real sisters
indeed, because our born sisters or mothers could not
have so much patience and endurance to look over and
minister to the Serbian soldier. Al] soldiers that were
in this Hospital for treatment, and with whom I came in
contact, and those that are here now, have only words
of praise for the excellent treatment they have received
at Scottish Women’s Hospital.

“Tam convinced that these services rendered to our
patients by lady doctors and Sisters of the Scottish
Women's Hospital shall remain deeply engraved into
the hearts of mine and my war comrades as a remem-
brance and appreciation, which shall incite the later
generations to reverence for what the Scottish Women
have done for the Serbs, in the hour of their great need.

“T will say once more, praise to the brave Scottish
Women!

“ Sergt.-Maj. Miran Lepeveren,

(300 2 Bai. Sect. post No, 36.)"

“Praise to the brave Scottish Women!” But they
do not want our praise. They have gained the love
of Serbia, and as throuvh the long years she remembers
the sons who suffered and died for her in that last
victorious struggle, she sees at their side the devoted,
the tender-heartec, the brave, the indomitable women
that Britain had sent her.

And Ostrovo—can they ever forget ©
scattered village, the lake with its circle
mountains, the camp in a fold of the hills, the trees round
it, and the spring of fresh water besjce ;

tt; the sad but
absorbing work in the operating-tent, the
18

Strovo? The

of bare and r icky

anNious

|
if

274. SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

watching in the wards, the ambulance cars ploug hi
their way through the sand or bumping and_boilit @
the rocky tracks; the “hairpin bends” on the Dri
the tlies at Skotchivar, the glare of the sun on the sar
the lashing rain, the delight in the cooled air, the bo:
of the guns, the sound of the fiddle brought from Salonil
the dance, the glorious camaraderie there are wom
to-day in Australia and Britain who can never forg
Ostrovo.

ploughing
oilit g up
1 Drina,
the sand,
the boom
Salonika,
e women
er forget

CHAPTER III
THE TRANSPOR'T COLUMNS

~ROM September 1916. te September 1918 the
f 2nd Serbian Army was Waging war against the
Bulears in the Moglena Mountains. It is no country
to fightin. “Even with unlimited transport of all kinds.
and men to vet it up to the fighting line, it Would be
difficult to guarantee the armies avainst either scarcity
of ammunition or food. And the Serbs had no such
abundance. The Way they have toucht is Magnificent
—stupendous. But it: has meant an untold amount of
extra exposure and suffering. . . . What the Serbs have
been through has to be told to be credited. All honour
to a brave race,” !

In transport of all kinds they were limited, but of
motor ambulances they had none at all. The wounded
were carried to the dressing-stations and hospitals and
to the railway stations on their Way to Salonika, in
stretchers slune on either side of mules. The Weary
Journey along the desperate mountain roads would often
take hours, It is appalling to think what many a wounded
man must have suffered on these Journeys,

The Transport’ Column of the Scottish Women
under Mrs, Harley was the only one Working in these
mountains for the Serbs. It arriy ed in Salonika shortly
before Dr. Bennett’s Unit in August 1916, and until
the following January was encamped on the shores of
Lake Ostrovo, In January to1z Mrs. Harley resioned
her post as Head of the Transport Column to de relies

(Olid

At the Serbian E vont in Mar,

i
fi
7

heii teuodedamamer ee

2,0 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

work in Monastir, and the Column thereafter
attached to the Ostrove Unit. under Miss Bedfo
Miss Bedford tells the story of the year's work fr
September 1916 to August 1gt7

“Daring the past year the work of the Mo
Ambulance Section! has been as varied as it has be
strenuous, and almost every sample of bad road |
been experienced.

“In their journeys for wounded, the ambulance
have struggled and skidded on th steepest mounts
gradients, and in the worsi possible weather. The lit
vans (when plying for hospital provisions) have labour
and stuck in unconquerabie mud. There have be:
long sad journeys to Salonika, be wine the remains

some dead hero to his last. r sune-place, and there hi

been happy ones, when Sisters and orderlies, oi
home on leave. have been carried to their port
embarkation. And we find that with eve ry journe
our respect for the ‘ Ford’ has increased

‘In September 1916 there were five ambulan
one lorry, and a touring-car attached to the Hospital
Ostrovo, Although the actual distance covered and ¢
number of patients carried, at the time, does not compar
with the work of the Transport Column in the ear)
months of the following year (after we moved forward)
yet the roads were much more ditticult, and the patir
were neariy all des) ratcly bad cases,

“Our ambulances and those Working under Mi
Hariey (which latter did splendid work) ran ovr
same ground, bringing patients from dressin »-stit
14 or 15 kilometres up the mountains to our ELos
and carrying convalescents to the various evacuati
pitals alone the line of railway. In those days oun
» Attached to the Ostrovo Unit From Jan. 1oty united

that had been under Mis. Harte y

ifter was
Bedford.

ork from

le: Motor
ha > bee BY

road has

Wbulances
mountain
Vhe litth
laboured
ve been
mains «|
Cle have
5, POI
port

Journ

rulan

spit tI

THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS rae

lay over ground quite recently fought over. Enormous
shell-holes marked the way — piles of ammunition, used
and unused, and many dead beasts. Amongst all the
battle-leavings I know of no sadder sight than to meet
the appeal in the eyes of a fallen horse in his last hours.

“The comforts at these dressing-stations were not
many, but the patients, when they arrived on mules
from the front, either in pannier saddles or hammocks
slung on either side of the animal, were rested and fed ;
the straw upon which they were laid in the tents looked
clean, and their wounds were always carefully and skilfully
dressed. The remarkable courage and chivalry of the
Serbian soldier was often displayed on these ambulance
journeys. He would endure pain and cold) without
«murmur, and after a journey of intense torture, over
broken and jolting ground, he would smilingly thank
the chauffeur for her careful driving. Indeed, the
Serbian soldier is a most. lovable person, simple in
character, as courageous in ruling his own spirit as he is
in storming a mountain, full of faith, and with the heart
of achild. The Hospital Sisters always said they were
jut like big children to nurse, and when the pain was at its
Vorst their ery was invariably for their micas (mothers),

“In those first days we had no facilities for mending
the cars and no covering for them or for the ‘spares,’
which, on arrival, | found ales packing-case cupboard,

Nin the open. After fruitless appeals for wood,
l lirections, | finally thought of our commanding
olficer, a Serbian Colonel with a reputation for organiza-
tion His reply was characteristic. He sent an
order for our lorry to be sent to his office next day,
and in due time it returned with a venerous supply of
wood, Then a tarpaulin was found, and a shelter was
raised, sufficient to cover three cars, with more cupboards

}
i

htools. Later we enlarged the structure

Ben neg a

—

EHTS iti 6s agg

1 mast ceasing
sstesmeiic et

75) SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

and closed it in with walls of flattened petrol tins, and ir
the sun it shone like silver and was an object of muck
pride and of great comfort. The Colonel's thoughtful.
ness also provided us with a chauffeur and mechanic
whom he secured from his brother (who was a Genera!
in Salonika), so that he might lend him te us.

"Thus the nucleus of a garage was beeun, and we
were able to do our own small repairs. Here it will be
fittine to render tribute to the unfailing help of the
British Army Service Corps, several of whose camps
were close to our Hospital. We have to thank them
for keeping our cars on the roads in those first trying
times, and also for much kindness then and si.ce.

“On Christmas Day the Serb chauffeurs and the
Hospital carpenter save us a special s/ava or feast.
for which they made elaborate preparations, where they
displayed the truest hospitality, Havine occasion to
visit the varave before it was light, I found it illumined
by an enormous fire at which a whole lamb was being
roasted, Guyo was turning the spit and the other
chautleur was basting the carcase out of a petrol tin dish
containing a strange fatty mixture,

“They rose with the Serbian Christmas vrectiny :
‘The Christ is born.’ They made me repeat. the
answer in Serbian, which means - ‘T know that He js
born,

“When the roast was finished it was carried to their
sleeping tent, and stood there to vet cold. At nivht
it Was cut up and served at a feast to which I and some
of the chauffeurs were bidden. There was also a
Christmas tree, upon which we were each represented
by some motor part. One of the chauffeurs was
represented by a carburettor, T was a sparking plug,
and the carpenter was represented by a golden shavit
hune on the topmest branch.

and in
f much
ivhtful-
‘chanic,
reneral

ind we
will be
of the
camps
< them
trying

nd the
feast,
e they
ion to
mined
being
other
n dish

eting :
i stire
He is

) their
nicht
I some
Iso a
sented
5 Was

plus,
laving

THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 279

“One dwells on the characteristics of these delightful
people because one feels that they show what the
Serbians are, and how entirely they deserve the help that
we have given them, and sorely they stand in need of it.
They have fought bravely, times without number, against
appalling odds, until those who are left are worn out,
body and spirit. Kaimatchalan, where nundreds of
their dead and their enemies’ dead lie buried, is an
everlasting monument to their bravery and their endur-
ance. One of the few really decisive battles in the war's
history, it was won under conditions impossible to
describe. They have suffered the disseminating ravage
of disease, and separation from their families, with no
word of them for years (such are the Bulgars’ cruel re-
strictions in Serbia). These sufferings truly have been
forced upon them, but the spirit in which they have been
endured is theirs, and theirs alone; this and their trust
and dependence upon the British are an eloquent appeal
to every one of us to stand by and protect them.

*Oni5th January 1917 the Transport Column under
Mrs. Harley (as was mentioned before) was transferred
to Dr. Bennett's Unit, and was attached to a dressing-
station about 60 kilometres from the Hospital where
we had first worked. We found three fairly able-bodied
ambulances, one totally out of action, two vans, and a
kitchen car (also temporarily out of action and unsuited
to the roads in that part of the country). The latter
was subsequently converted into a van capable of carry
ing sitting cases, or material, and it proved most useful,
One of the Ford vans we sent to Ostrovo. We had
three more ambulances sent up from there, and as soon
as possible put the disabled one on the roads, so that we
had seven in all. The Coionel also placed (for several
months) four Serbian ambulances and their driver

directly under my contro!

——

spomtenrriesyotecaeral soe

‘osha peaen| pe ibemageronseonays

af
ty

280 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

"Then began a very busy time. The sick and
wounded (they were mostly sick) came down in large
numbers from the front in carts and on mules, They
would often arrive covered with snow and soaked to the
skin, and there were many cases of frostbite. Our
(return) journey to the Evacuation Hospital near the
line was about 34 kilometres, and sometimes the cars
did four journeys in’ the day. There was never a
day off, ouly half a day very occasionally. Rain and
snow alternated, and the girls would come home with
icicles hanging to their eyes and all round taeir necks.
Owing to a scarcity of paraffin and other causes there
Was no stove in the mess. or sleeping tents, but they
would cheerfully thaw themselves at the open trench fire
in the camp kitchen, and after supper would fill their hot-
water bottles and jump into bed, often with the snow
drifting in under their tent flaps. Yet I never once
heard them grumble. They were ready for the roads
every morning soon after dawn, and the more driving
they had the better pleased they were,

"The task of making a garage, more portable than
the ‘silver palace’ we had left behind at the Hospital,
then began, and the hunt for wood had to be resumed.
The trees for many miles round our camp had been cut
down by the troops, and it. was with great difficulty
than even firewood could be found, However, at that
time TL had to visit Salonika on one of the periodical
hunts tor ‘motor spares," and [ happened to mention
the needed wood in the presence of a naval officer, who
rad once spent a few days with Mrs, Harley, and who
knew the work of the Tra spert Column. He immedi-
ately spoke to his captain, with wonderful results. The
model ercetion which for a time graced our camp wi

Moss Bedford wa hown from one end of Serbia to the other a

Spare-parts pea ent was her search for motor accessories !

< and
large
They
0 the

Our
r the

cars
er a

and
with
ecks,
there
they
h fire
hot.
SHOW
once
‘oads
ving

than
vital,
ned,
1 cut
culty
that
lical
tion
who
who
edi-
The

THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 281

owed to thg kindness of this officer, but, alas! it was
scarcely finished when our marching orders came, and the
Column was moved, with the dressing-station, across
the river, and there, profiting by our recent experience,
we raised a sull lighter and yet more portable shelter for
our cars. We were then in the proud position of being
able to lend some of our precious wood to finish the
Hospital kitchen and to make a locked store, as well as
ward sercens, and even shafts for the Serbian horse-carts
(which were often in the wars), to say nothing of seats
for the mess-tent.

“About this time our work slackened. We were
viven a long, tedious run of 60 kilometres (return
journey) over a road so rough that our mortality for
‘springs’ increased by leaps and bounds, and springs in
these days were unprocurable. But necessity knows no
law. The ambulances had to be kept on the roads, and
it meant journeys of 300 kilometres to Salonika, and
then unending difficulties. But we felt we must uphold
the varave tradition, No order for carrying wounded
could ever be refused. [ am glad to say that it never
was, except on one occasion, when the weather rendered
the roads impassable.

“Just before we left this camp there were several
hostile air raids, and bombs were dropped unpleasantly
close to the Hospital. The cars were always sent out to
search for casualties, which, alas! we always found, and
were able to render timely aid.

“Tn April we had a move to a far less picturesque
site In a barren, sandy valley entirely shut in by hills.
It was intolerably hot, and as the place had been an old
horse camp the tlies were unendurable. Rations were
sometimes dithcult to get, and the bread was often
mouldy, Our ambulances, now numbering fourteen, had

at good stand. iad the work shop and store were con

8. SCOTTISTE WOMEN'S HOSPTPALS

veniently placed, and our facilities and arrangements for
repairing the ears were much improved.
“Bat for many months our eyes had been set on
we hills from whence the wounded came ; however, the
military authorities did not consider the roads tit) for
ambulances, especially as the cases were then mostly light
and could travel without discomfort by cart. Early in May
we were ordered to run up toa dressing-station about eight
kilometres from us, which had moved forward, and to
which patients from three different sections of the front
were received, It was, however, not considered worth
while to move our camp for so short a distance, especi-
ally as when the loads were finished we should be run
ning rig’ t on to the next ambulance at the very summit.
“On 15th June we covered the whole distance for
the first time. It would be difficult indeed to give a
true idea of the beauty and interest of this journey.
The road zigzags up the sides of the mountain a
distance of about eightecn kilometres. From cach * hair-
pin bend’ a different view of the country is obtained,
At one point peak after peak, in bold, irregular outline,
rises against a brilliant blue sky, and then as we turn,
we find that we are facing decp dark gorges which seem
to drop straight from the road we are on, almost out of
sight. Phen another turn brings us to more gentle
slopes covered with undergrowth, unul we reach the
dressing-station (on the sides of a steep, pine-sheltered
summit from which we now are to carry the patients).
In July the welcome orders came that we might move
up the ‘Transport Section to this fascinating spot! The
Meédecin-Chef chose with me a site for our camp, and he
did everything he possibly could to make us comfortable.
The kitchen and mess-room rose like magic in a single
day——the work of his Serbian éo/richars, who were

' Yellak

PRANSPORT COLUMNS

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discharged soldiers. The kitchen, with its French fires,
its primitive stone oven, its roof of pine branches, and
its pretty cook (one of our Ostrovo orderlies), made
a delightful picture. Next to it was a small store built of
pine logs, with a roof of branches covered with the same,
which made it both cool and rainproof. And the bower
which served as a mess-room was made entirely of pine
saplings and foliage closely interlaced, with the front
fairly open and commanding a magnificent view towards
Monastir. The only drawback to our new site was the
distance from the earacge, which made the supervision
of the work somewhat difficult. But the Serbian
mechanic is a conscientious worker, and I could always
feel that he was to be trusted.

“If the winter does not temporarily drive the
Column back to more sheltered quarters, the prospects
of moving still farther forward are excellent, as the road
to the dressing-station, about four kilometres nearer the
firing-line, is rapidly being improved, and if this point
is reached, the usefulness of the Transport Column will
be much increased.

“VELLAK, August 1917.”

From August 1917 to September 1918, at which
latter date the Serbian advance began, the Column was
stationed at Yellak high up in the mountains, on a spur
of Kaimatchalan, where the Serbs built wooden huts for
the whole party. Their work during this year was
incessant. The cars were off the roads only two days
throughout the winter. The nature of the roads was
such that it is hard indeed to understand how the girl
chauffeurs dared to take their cars over them—narrow,
steep paths, with deep precipices on the one hand and
high cliffs on the other. Many women would find it in
their hearts to envy the members of the Transport

INN cent artes

284 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Column this year spent at Yellak, 5000 feet high. The
huts were clustered together on the hillside, far from any
other community, amidst wild and fascinating scenery,
The work which occupied the girls daily called continu.
ally for a display of high virtues, courage, endurance,
and extreme ventleness, They lived physically and
morally in a keen, bracing atmosphere. We read in
one of the dia ies of the sorrow with which they moved
on in September 1918 from their home on the mountain-
side, though they were overjoyed to be accompanying
the Serbs in their advance into their own country,
Writing of the women of the Transport Column jn
Russia attached to the ~ondon Units, Dr. Inglis says,
“Their nerve never failed them, they never lost their
courage, and they never forgot to be gentle.” The
same is true of the members of this Transport Column
in Macedonia.

During the year at Yellak the Scottish Women in
their ambulances “ scoured the country for wounded.”
and became well known along the mountain tracks, with
their “ hairpin bends,” Stationed at each of these bend:
were old Serbian soldiers—chichas (uncles), as they were
called —to control the traffic of the motors and ambulances
nearing the corners. At first the chichas used green
boughs, which were waved furiously in the air to warn
the traffic. The boughs not proving very efficient,
whistles were substituted. but with little improvement,
The whistles of the excited vld mea were heard con
tinuously along the mountain-sides, and lost all value
to the approaching drivers. Boards painted red
on one side and whit= on the other were ultimately
chosen. The chichas were devoted to the Scottish
Women. One day, during the period the Column was
stationed at Yellak, one of the S.W.H. ambulances was
stopped, when coi: S Up a steep path. hy the warn!

The
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7aS

Seta!

THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 285

from the red board at the ‘hairpin bend.” Behind the
ambulance was a convoy of M.T. wagons toiling up the
steep road, and this of course had also to halt. The old
chicha vanished from his post for a moment behind a
boulder, then appeared again with an old bully-beef tin,
in which was arranged a bunch of wild flowers. This
with great delight he presented to ‘the Goddess in the
Car.” It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of the
M.T. men, who had had to pull up for this act of
devotion, and would now have to spend several minutes
restarting their wagons on this steep bend. However,
it is good to hear the Tommies took it as a great joke,
cheered the old chirha, helped to restart the S.W.H.
ambulance, and then worked at their own.

The advance of the Serbian Army, beginning in the
middle of September 1918 and culminating in their
entry into Belgrade on 1st November, is one of the
marvellous stories of the War. The quotations which
follow from Miss Corbett’s diary give us a vivid im-
pression of the part which the Scottish Women took in
this wonderful advance, and Miss Dillon, head of the
Transport since Miss Bedford had returned to Australia,
takes up the story where Miss Corbett stops, and carries
us right into Belgrade.

“ NISH, 22"d@ October 1918.

‘Dear Miss Frercuson,j—We have had a most
eventful month, and I cannot give you a better idea of
it than by sending you extracts from Miss Corbett’s
diary, which she has kindly made for me.

“On the whole, we have had a most successful trek.
We have had to leave 2 cars on the way, and now have
14 out of our original 16, but the Serbs only have 5 out
of 12, and the French 6 out of 20. The nearest M.T.
Coy. is nearly a couple of hundred kilometres behind us.

“We have had a great reception in all the towns, as

250) SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

the soldiers have told the women of ‘their Sisters,’ and
they hang wreaths over the cars and give us fruit and
flowers.

“The health of the Unit has been excellent up to
here (Nish), but now four people have influenza, which is
rampant in the country. We are stopping here for a
little, and I hope that it will give them time to recover.

“(Sed.) KaruLeen Ditton,”

“YELLAK, Sunday, 15th Scpleniber 1918.-—It was in-
deed the offensive yesterday, and all the guns must have
been voing after all. Colonel Petrovitch (Medical Chief of
our Army) came over from Hf.Q. this morning to tell us
that Sokaland Dobrapolje had both fallen at seyen o'clock,
and we heard afterwards that we've taken 1000 prisoners
and a vreat many guns. Wonderful news, indeed, for
now that that first and worst mountain barrier has fallen
so quickly, it means that a biz advance is certain. The
Serbs have waited so long, just on three years of exile
now-—three years in many cases without so much as a
post card from home, and a Serb loves his home almost
better than a Frenchman does, It’s rather pathetic the
way they have idealised their country: there, there are
perfect roads, we are assured, as we bump alone over
these, and large gardens bright with flowers even under
the snow, and magnificent houses, and no mountains at
all! And we, who remember ‘ real Serbia,’ rather wonder
if they'll have a horrid disillusionment, or be perfectly
content when they get back to their smiling and delight-
tul, but certainly roadless, land. Anyhow, they're very
radiant to-day; as I went down the road this Morning
an old fellow coming up on an ammunition cart leant over
the edge till I thought he'd fall out, shouting,
Sestral Smut “obva, Sestia tl’ (sister, it is well), and there
Was a ring in his voice that brought a lump to one’s throat.

‘ Sestva,

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THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 287

“ Luesday, 17th Scplember.—Good news again to-day.
The Second Army took Koziak last night, the last ot
ihe enemy's defences really this side of Prilep and the
Babuna, and our army has advanced to kilometres in
ome places. The Serbs have taken 4000 prisoners
altogether (they were coming down to H.Q. to be
counted all day) and 51 guns, and if only this perfec:
weather holds there's no saying where we may
eet to!

“All went down to Danube I] 6.15 this morning.
They’d 120 wounded in, but M. G—— sent down a
dozen of his Fiat ambulances that take eight men each,
and M. W—— a lot of Fords, and they cleared them
out, so only three of our cars had to go back there after
lunch, and a couple to Drina III. Drina IJ, to which
we've been attached for over a year now, moved this
morning early, to away beyond Milutina Kosa, where
there are no roads at all, and we're left rather stranded,
as they cherished and fed us, and brought us wood and
water. They've left us a couple of men though, so we
shall manage all right.

“ Wednesday, 18th September.— Packed till 10 a.m. in
expectation of a move, when I started for Drina I1T—
vot back at 2.15 and lunched hastily, then down to
Danube II, getting home after seven—too late and dark
to do anything more in the way of preparations.

“ Friday, 20th Seplember.—Tremendous uprooting
all day : one gets so firmly anchored in a year; and one
can carry so awfully little in a Ford on these roads.
We're to take a haversack each, and beds and bedding
to-morrow, as well as part of our stores and part of the
earage stuff and the tents. Sister and Kent the cook
are being left behind for a day or two with one of the
varage men, and are to get our kit-bags and things sent
on in M. G--.—’s big cars, which will no doubt always be

poems pees mesgteeee

sesemnee se sets whee

288 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

takin patients back from whichever dressing-station we
run to,

* Saturday, 21st Septembey (Nobody knows where)
—Off at last on the longed-for move forward, and
its really very sad, when the moment comes, to say
geod-bye to our log huts and well-known mountainous
land.

“ Sunday, 22nd Seplember (VWiletznitza).—-Did one
run back to Danube | (some of them did two), but most
of the wounded were light cases and sent away in carts
or on their own feet. Got orders at midday to come
on here, so came, arriving about four oclock—1 5 kilos

farther forward. ‘This is a desperate army to keep up
with! We've no news at all, but they must be advane-
ing at a pretty brisk pace. We've installed ourselves in
very clean Bulgar huts, and found three larve vats of
Bulgar petrol, but goodness knows when we'll see the
rest of our Unit or possessions again,

* Wednesday, 25th September (Lelavoda).-—M ‘Caw
went back from here this morning to try and collect our
Various possessions, which have got badly scattered
between this and Yellak, nobody having foreseen a trek
of this rapidity,

* Up at five and helped to carry the dressing-station,
so didn't get in’ here till midday. It’s about 25 kilos
(the same as yesterday's run) by the road, but not nearly
as much on the map—ziyzag up one side of the mountain
and zigzaz down the other. We'd been promised good
roads after Dunje, but I Suppose it depends on what you
call ‘after.’ This one’s very steep and very deep sand
in several places, where sticking is quite inevitable; but
there's plenty of traffic on the road, so one just waits till
a suificient crowd collects to shove one. At the dress-
iIng-station found forty Italian and Roumanian prisoners
left behind here sick, in a wretched shed, and in a bad

ON We

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, and
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Most
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come
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featbiotines 2's

THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 289

state of starvation and rags, so our nine cars took tw enty-
seven of them back to Dunje.

“ Thursday, 26th September (Prilep).—The Serbs
are on the point of taking Veles, 60 kilos beyond Prilep,
and surely this is being one of the epic advances of
history 2 In our cars we can’t keep up with the army,
which is marching and fighting at the same time!

“We've emerged from our five days’ struggle in the
wilderness, breathless but triumphant. I'm very glad
we had that ‘trek,’ though it's a comfort to see main
roads and civilisation avain. If the weather had broken
up there in the hills and turned the sand to mud we'd
never have got either back or forward again.

“Friday, 27th September (Babuna)—No patients
ready till midday, so worked or the cars. Then did two
journeys to Prilep, 15 kilos away; trundled a borrowed
back axle back for ‘1g’ and set out after the others
about 6.30, up over the Babuna—and down and down
and down—hairpin bend after hairpin bend, a perfect
nightmare of them, till at last I came on the Column
(11 p.m.) drawn up by the roadside, asleep either in
their cars or in their beds in the ditch—the dressing-
station slumbering around them. All the grass and scrub
ahead of us seemed to be on fire, roaring and leaping
tongues of flame everywhere—wonderful sight!

* Saturday, 28th September (Veles).—On, very early
this morning, tothe village that had been indicated to us ;
had just pitched our tents—and were very pleased with
ourselves—beside trees and a stream when a man came
along with orders that we were to move right on here—
a tremendous trek for the dressing-station after its hard
work, fully 40 kilos, the men and most of the officers
on foot, and all the Stati on mule-back. Worrall went
straight back to Prilep with three wounded who turned
up from somewhere, and I took three sick thar we found

290 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

in an ox-cart back to Igvor. It’s one of the loveliest
towns I’ve ever seen; white houses with brown-tiled
roofs climbing irregularly up the banks of the broad and
placid Vardar River, thickly embowered in its trees, and
with the usual graceful minarets springing up lightly
here and there. We've camped on a somewhat squalid
spot, just above the big barracks that the Germans have
been using as a hospital, a perfect building for it, with
big rooms, light and airy ; but the dressing-stations have
so little equipment that they can’t do much till they get
some of the hospitals up. The enemy only cleared out
the night before last, so the station buildings are burning
still, but the town seems all right. We hit off the main
line north from Salonika here for the first time, and
once they get the trains working on it again everything
will be much easier.

* Sunday, 29th September ( Veles),—Took two Bulgars
and a Frenchman back to Prilep, 60 kilometres and a
six hours’ journey, for though the road is broad and
level till you come to the Babuna, it’s horribly bumpy
still, The poor Bulgars screamed the whole way, and
I'd to stop several times to try and arrange their wounded
legs better, but there’s very little one can do; a bumpy
road is bound to hurt fiendishly, however slowly one
goes. They've still only a very messy dressing-station
squatted in a corner of the barracks at Prilep, so the
patients have another long day's journey on to Banitza
in M. G——’s cars.

‘ VWonday, 30th September.—A beautiful day again, to
our great relief, and the river, with the trees beyond it
and the hills behind, looked very lovely in the rain-washed
air. It is pleasant, too, not to be breathing dust for an
hour or two. Most of us cleaned our cylinder heads.
Three of the cars were ordered off at an hour’s notice
to take a doctor and three orderlies to Koumanovo away

veliest
n-tiled
id and
s, and
ightly
qualid
; have
, with
shave
y get
sd out
irning
main
, and
thing

ilgars
ind a
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umpy
, and
inded
impy
- one
ation
» the
nitza

in, to
nd it
shed
roan
2ads.
otice
way

THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 291

beyond Skoplje, 100 kilometres off atleast. There were
no orders for the rest of us till 9 o'clock to-nigh when
two of us were sent off with an imbecile guide t» look
for some slightly wounded somewhere in this tor:uous
town. Heaven knows where we drove, but when it
came to a sort of narrow gutter up a precipitous cliff
between two blank walls, a place it would take a clever
mule to negotiate, we struck and came home. They
can be fetched far more suitably by hand to-morrow,
They say Bulgaria has surrendered unconditionally, and
that terms are being arranged in Paris, Of course
Germany and Austria remain, but it spells triumph for
the Serbs at last. Everybody's crowding into the town
to-night, and at every turn you're greeted exultantly and
your hand wrung by the chancest acquaintance. It is
very glorious for them. They've had an awlully
strenuous time, of course, and not much to eat, but they
aren't feeling it yet. I said to one of the hospital order-
lies yesterday that he must have had very hard work.
‘There is much to do,’ he said; ‘but work is not hard
when one is going home!’ And that is the feeling
everywhere.

“ Tuesday, 1st October (Skoplje).—Off at 8. 30 this
morning by a disappointing road, hilly at first but after-
wards broad and level, along the fertile Vardar valley, and
maddeningly bumpy ; it was a case of low speed nearly
all the way, into holes and over bumps. There were
several bridges destroyed, one big one still burning
merrily, but by sending a much-amused Macedonian
to walk backwards and forwards through the water at
several points we found a quite passable ford.

“The inhabitants have come out to-night in quite
sufficient quantities to relieve our minds, and the electric
street lamps installed by the Germans are twinkling
cheerfully. [t's a queer sort of town. this ancient capital

292, SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

of Serbia, with two rows of big gaunt houses along by
the river, which is spanned by handsome bridges, one
rather mean cobbled street of shops, and the old part
huddled up behind, with only a few minarets to relieve
the squalor of its blank walls. ‘Turkish customs do not
make for cheerful streets, as the yardens are all carefully
screened and almost no windows face the outer world.

* Wednesaay, 2nd October (Koumanovo).—Went up to
the Citadel with Miss Dillon this morning to ask about
the road, and were told »Y high authorities that we might
start whenever we liked, but the cavalry were starting
at 12, so perhaps we'd like to go with them. We
searched wildly for petrol, and at last found a small keg
of benzol at the station. I'm beginning to hate the sight
of kegs of benzol, it makes cranking the cars such a
business; but it’s better than not running at all, and
we've lived on loot ever since we left Yellak, having
outstripped all the other cars and official supplies.

“At midday the cavalry, mounted on sturdy little
horses, started with their band playing but in full battle
array of shrapnel helmets and arms. We set out cheer-
fully after them, and soon overtook them, then got in here
Just behind the scouts, the rest of the regiment coming
along soon afterwards, a very pretty sight, played through
the town by their band on white horses, pacing five
abreast. H.Q. arrived to-night, I believe, and we saw
three Bulgar officers with an armed retinue riding in jor

a pourparler, They really do seem to have capitulated

on the whole, but there are little parties of them still
scrapping,

* This is a dear little town ona stream, with poplar
trees and minarets, and open booths and Turkish in-
habitants, but there seemed no clean houses in it, so
we've pitched the tents in the open again, and ‘the
open’ is all rather bare and burnt uD.

mg by
Ss, one
d part
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arting
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uch
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: Saw
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lated

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h in-
£. So
‘the

teesey

THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 293

‘ Saturday, 5th October (Koumanovo).-Otf at 7 a.m.
and home 9.30 p.m.—driving steadily the whole time,
and accomplished 120 miles. What a country! Col.
Petrovitch told us to send three cars to look for patients
in a couple of villages where he believed there were
dressing-stations, and to find out which side of Vranja
the enemy is, with a view to moving there to-morrow !
We drew the first village blank, but a little farther
on found some wounded Austrians sheltering in’ the
abandoned lorry ; they'd been there for three days with-
out food, they said, and looked pretty miserable. Ellis
took them back, and Miss Villon and [ went on. |
picked up a very ill Serb on the road, and we also gave
lifts to several ambulance people ploddine frontwards.
It was a beastly day, a bitter wind in the morning and
heavy rain from tt o'clock on. The road is awfully
bumpy, straight and flat, but innocent of metal as far
as we probed it through the mud, and full of holes.
Blocked, too, to-day with every sort of traffic: dozens of
big guns, some cavalry, a whole infantry division, three
dressing-stations on the move, and strings and strings of
pack ponies, army carts, native carts--but we'd the
honour of being the only motors fools enough to try it!
There are at least a dozen bridges broken: one big
one necessitates fording a river just deep enough for
the cars, and the little ones also present a pleasant
variety of obstacles, with the one unchanging feature of
MUD. We had to be shoved a lot, often empty, and
i's going to be quite impossible to-morrow with loaded
cars, I fear. We were lured on and on with rumoured
dressing-stations just ahead, until we finally got to
Vranja_ itself, which the enemy evacuated fast night.
The Bulgars have really capitulated now, but the
Austrians. and a couple of German regiments are still
scrapping a bit as they retire,

294 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

‘‘Vranja is the first town we've been allowed to call
‘real Serbia,’ and the people came rushing out joyfully
to greet us, with wreaths of flowers, marigolds and love-
lies-bleeding, to hang on the radiator caps. All the
cavalry horses were wearing wreaths too, and flags out
everywhere, and this wretched weather spoiling it all!
We found Danube IT jest arriving at the big Barracks
Hospital,’ so I deposited my sick man there. There
were some Serbian Sisters, kindly looking women, and
a certain amount of equipment left by the Bulgars, and
not too many patients, so we didn't suggest bringing
any back here, the odds eeming about even on our
getting back over the river after this rain. Asa matter
of fact it wasn’t as bad as we'd expected, and seemed
not to have risen at all, but some of the other mud-holes
were pretty hopeless.

“ Monday, 7th October (Vranja).—We've got the
empty top storey of such an attractive house, with a vine
wandering out ona quaint wooden erection ever so far in
front of its door, and a deliehtful well with a roof over it
and a big wheel, and our welcome was even more floral
and effusive to-day, but, alas! it still rains and ruins
everything.

“ Luesday, 8th October (Vranja).—We _ passed
Vranski Banja, where the Ostrovo S.\.H. is supposed
to be going, so turned aside to see that fashionable health
resort with its hot springs smelling strongly of sulphur;
but there's nothing fashionable to-day about the pretty
little wooded valley with its couple of big boarding-
houses empty and deserted.

“The river was full of peasant women washing
clothes in the hot water—such pretty, graceful creatures.
Their clothes are beautiful too, coloured kerchiefs on
their heads and a little rough brown coatee over the

* Afterwards taken over by the Scottish Women’s Hospitai from Ostrovo.

call
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VO.

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HM
8
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THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 295

long very full striped petticoat that swings like a kilt
when they walk; and the stripes are such glorious
colours, vermilion and orange and black, as a rule, but
there are blues and greens and purples too.

“ This is really the beginning of the home-coming, and
we gave lifts toa group of very radiant men this morning,
going back to their ‘ Komandos’ after finding the families
they'd had no news of for three years alive and well.

“ Friday, 11th October (Leskovat:).—Got in here at
lunch-time, after 25 kilos of very bad roads, and our
welcome was certainly amazing. We were literally
fallen upon by the entire population, had wreaths hung
round our own necks as well as our cars, and an embrac-
ing crowd of women and girls surged up and down the
town after us, imploring us to go and stay with them, to
lunch with them then—at least to come home with them
for just five minutes, that their aged mothers might see
us. I heard an agonised voice from the midst of the
crowd: ‘Isn’t it terrible to be Scotch just now? You
do feel so embarrassed with a whole string of them
hanging round your neck,’ and I could but agree sadly.
They must have been awfully disappointed at even our
best efforts at responsiveness. We had coffee in a small
shop, breathed and leant heavily upon by several hundred
excited spectators, the back rows mounted on tables and
chairs, and finally sought refuge in the first empty house
that presented itself—a dirty and dilapidated structure
that harrowed our admirers terribly; but a boy with a
bayonet guarded the entrance against most of them, and
we got some prisoners to clean it up a bit. The soldiers
seem to have let themselves go, about us, to some effect.
I heard a most spirited description of us under shell fire
being delivered in a shop the other day; the Charge of
the Light Brigade simply wasn’t in it!

.
+

“We're almost the first cars in, as a matter of fact.

296 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

We passed half a dozen broken down on the way, and
another half-dozen have won through with H.Q, peopie,
and so on, but we're the first Unit, and congratulating
ourselves heartily on getting all the cars along.

“Met the Commissaire of Danube II in the town,
who said they'd a lot of wounded 13 kilometres away ;
so, having found a small quantity of benzol, we all went
out and brought some of them in, but most came in
ox-carts or walked.

“ Saturday, 12th October (Leskovatz).—Did one run
to Danube II this morning, and found the school build-
ing here, where Morava II is established, quite full, so
had to take my patients to another big building near.
I went in with my stretchers to see how things were, and
found the place simply awtul; absolutely empty, not a

; bed, not a stretcher, not a cup of water—only a very
little straw spread round the sides of the rooms, and the
sick and wounded lying on it all mixed up together.
Two wounded women in one crowded ‘ward,’ one with
a fractured femur and one with a newborn baby that
she didn’t know in the least what to do with. No doctor,
and no real orderlies, only a few flustered people from
the town. As very few cars could go this afternoon
(petrol all finished), half a dozen of us went over to see
what we could do—and found it precious little. We got
the sick all upstairs, and the wounded all downstairs,

and the women into a separate room; and we got more
straw, and Miss Dillon got some Austrian prisoners;
and the ladies from the town began to surge in. They
brought cups and water-jugs, and plates and food, and
a few beds, on to which we got the worst cases, with
Straw wrapped up in our mosquito nets as mattresses;
but there are no blankets, and very few pillows, and it is
terrible how little one can do with only one’s hands and
no appliances at all. The first time I went into one of

,
,
si
4
i
i

r, and
copie,
lating

town,
Way ;

went
ne in

2 run
build-
ill, so
near,
>, and
not a
very
d the
ether
with
- that
»ctor,
from
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> see
e got
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ners ;
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, and
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it is
and
e of

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—
fae

B
F

sale e) S eeoe aSS

THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 297

the rooms a man greeted me eagerly with, ‘An English
Sister. Has the hospital come from Ostrovo, then ?’
And how heartily I wished it had.

“We captured Sister and Miss Munn for our annexe
to-day, and they've dune wonders there. Weve got a
lot more beds and mattresses, too, but of course until we
get blankets the men can't be got out of their torn and
bloody uniforms, and only half a dozen of them have
been dressed to-day. Several legs and hands are
looking pretty nasty to-night, and several aie a are

alarmingly high, and of course th ey re nearly ail in a
good deal of pain and discomfort. Thank Heaven
Drina UI has arrived with two excellent surgeons and a
lot of material. It’s awful how little one can do with no
doctor to order treatments, nor appliances to carry them
out. The ladies of the town are in too, its being Sunday.
They've supplied the beds and the mugs, and as the
patients are their own men, whom they haven't seen for
three years, one can't interfere much ; but it is distressing
to see a ‘head’ with a high temp. lapping up mae
(potent plum brandy), or a ‘chest,’ whose life hangs by a
thread, dragved out of his bed and his proper position to
have his males exchanved fora better one. They're
nearly all doing extraordinarily well, though, and a Serb
certainly has amazing recuperative powers. Two men
died—a gangrenous leg that should have been amputated,
and a sick man from upstairs; and some of the worst
cases have rather gone to bits to-night, leaning very
dolefully one against another, and wanting small atten-
tions continuously—bu the pluck of most of ‘em’s
mare GE
Wednesday, 16th October (Leskovatz).—Wire last
ucht that petrol had been sent off, and we were all to go
to Nish: so we've danced on the doorstep all day, packed

snd vend tr COM

A ee cireumstan 1
anaq Peauy tO Start, 42naG NOW COMES a@ Ccitctu af 1tial

RE TNBETI OR gE eng tmnt meres ants

3
:
'
sf
j

298 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

rumour that t e petrol’s coming by ox-cart and can't be
here till to-morrow night.

“ Thursday, 17th October (Nish).\—Petrol arrived in
ox-carts early th ; morning, so the rest of us came
on here, 45 kilometres of bumpy road, but dry again
now after several summer days, and even the river gave
almost no trouble. They say it’s never been so low at
this season before.

“Found ourselves established in excellent quarters
here, an ex-German club, empty but clean and airy.
The others went off to Prohuplje directly after lunch
for patients, and I did five 8-kilometre journeys
round about the town, emptying one local hospital into
another. Nish’s a much more magnificent city than our
memory had painted it. Three years ago, arriving with-
out pause from London, and finding ourselves knee-deep
in mud, it struck us as more like a south of Ireland
village than anything else ; whereas now, after a lengthy
sojourn in Macedonia, it really seems a very fine modern
town set in the midst of a wide plain.

“Friday, 18th October (Nish).—Fetched patients from
Prohuplje this morning, 60 kilometres there and back of
rather nice rolling open country, with very pretty villages
here and there, and sharp blue hills a long way off.

“ Saturday, 19th October (Nish).—To Prohuplje this
morning, but found on arrival that I’d a ball race badly
gone, so had to come home on Mac’s bus, and send
Voyoslav out to mine. Breakages are serious matters
nowadays, but we've really had wonderful luck so far,
considering the roads. We've got fourteen of our
original sixteen here safely, and M. W——'s only got
six out of his twenty—and there’s no M.T. Company
within 100 miles of us now.”

Miss Dillon takes us into Belgrade :

* See letter from Miss Dillon, written from Nish, p. 285.

n't be

ved in
came
again
- gave
OW at

arters
airy.
lunch
reys
1 into
n our
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eland
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»dern

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ei schtteseeetion Semneere Ti

AOR Riis lied

ohn SSAA ata 1

THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 299

‘“We worked at Nish for ten days, and then went on
to Krusehvatz. Fighting was really over, though
Krushevatz had gas shells dropped in it, and there
were deaths from the results while we were there. The
people had had to live in their cellars for some days.
We got into Belgrade on 11th November, the army
having reached it on the rst, fourteen out of our original
sixteen cars completing the journey.

“And so we finished our trek of 740 kilometres,
from one end of Serbia to the other. Our army gave
us a very flattering mention in dispatches; the Prince
Regent reviewed us and presented medals; and now we
are waiting in a little town in Hungary till the right time
comes to be demobilised.”

“9 ST. LEONARD'S TERRACE, CHELSEA,
11th June 1919.

“ ExTRACT FROM A LETTER TO THE COMMITTEE.—
On my arrival in Belgrade last December, it was most
gratifying to hear the universal praises of our hospitals,
and especially of Miss Dillon’s Transport. They earned
undying fame for their splendid work in the final
offensive.—Believe me, yours always gratefully,

FE, HAvVERFIELD.”’
“ORDRE
rere Armee

Etat Major.

Adj. No. 41163.

“GENERAL HEADQUARTERS, NOVI SUD,
19th January 1919.

* From the Commander-in-Chief of the Serbian Army

‘Miss Kathleen Dillon, Commandant of the Scottish
Women’s Transport Column, who has undeniably earned
the crown of success for the very heavy work of her
Column, and by showing under all circumstances a
splendid example.

300 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

‘For these services and her fine actions I cite Miss
Dillon at the Order of the Army.
“The Voivode Commanding the 1st Serbian Army,
“(Sed.) Botovitcu.”

CRUE
1i¢re Armée Serbe
Etat Major.
Adj. No. 41163.
“GENERAL HEADQUARTERS, NOVI Sup,
19th January 1919.
“ Front the Commander-in-Chicf of the Serbian c-lrmy

“The Motor Transport Column of the Scottish
Women attached to the 1st Serbian Army under the
command of Miss Kathleen Dillon, which before the
beginning of the offensive was encamped near Yellak,
helped with the evacuation of the wounded and sick
from the farthest advanced dressing-stations up to
Skotchivar and Banitza by a road frequently exposed to
the enemy’s fire, which was also very difficult, steep, and
mountainous.

“ The strenuous task of this Column having redoubled
at the commencement of operations, the evacuation of
the wounded at Kust, Rachin Potok, and Poltchichte, in
spite of constant obstructions on the road, was effected
as usual and without interruption. At the time of a
great and stupendous need the Column went up to
Poltchichte, passing through Gradeshnitza and_after-
wards on to Melnitza. As soon as the enemy had been
driven over the Czerna, the first ambulance to ford this
latter was one belonging to this Column. The Column
afterwards passed on to Dunje, Bela Vodista Troiatsi,
and arrived at Veles, where it accompanied the advance
guard of the French Cavalry, entering Koumanovo with

¢ TRANSPORT COLUMNS,

SUD,

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cottish
er the
re the
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ds sick
up to
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p, and

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THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 301

th. .«. Further, in spite of bad weather, which impeded
the work, the members of the Column surmounted all
difficulties with right goodwill and cheerfulness. This
splendid example of endurance, devotion, and goodwill
has produced an excellent influence on our soldiers who
were fortunate enough to witness it.

‘The journeys from Koumanovo to Vranja, Leskovatz,
and Nish were very difficult: difficulties which had to
be conquered by goodwill, energy, and courage. The
Column was never late.

“For these splendid feats I cite the Column at the
Order of the Army.

“The Voivode Commanding the 1st Serbian Army,

“ (Sgd.) Botovitcu.”

Tuk STORY OF THE TRANSPORT COLUMN ATTACHED TO
THE ‘‘Exvsie Incuis” Unit

The part played by this Transport from the time it
arrived at the camp until it rejoined the Hospital at
Sarajevo is given as follows by Miss Robinson, who
succeeded Miss Geraldine Hedges as Chief Transport
Officer when the latter was obliged to return home
owing to severe and repeated attacks of malaria:

‘Our official tithe was Motor Ambulance Section
No. 8, and the Section should have consisted of 8
ambulances, i Ford van, 3 touring-cars, and 11 Burford
lorries. It was a great blow to us when the ship
containing the 1o lorries and touring-car was torpedoed.
The lorries and car were replaced, but arrived too late to
be of any service,

“We settled into our camp near Dragomantsi on
ist April and soon got into full work. The primary
purpose of the cars was, of course, to serve our own
Hospital, but in addition the ambulances went out every
day and worked for all the dressing-stations of the three

reptttms se eet

AISA i eee ceestgree

4
|

see tynganeen

302 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

divisions of the 2nd Serbian Army—the Timok,
Choumadia, and Jugo-Slav Divisions, These stations
were scattered about all over the Mogleintsa valley,
and some of the roads—marked in red on our maps
—were under fire from the Bulgarian batteries in the
mountains.

‘In the hot weather we had breakfast at 5.30 am.,
and the cars which were on duty left at 6, and proceeded
to the dressing-stations, where they worked all the morn-
ing. The wounded were brought down the mountains by
mules, either to the first dressing-station or to a point
where the road became practicable for a car, and our
cars carried them to other dressing-stations, to our
own Hospital, or to the big British General Hospitals
at Vertekop. The drivers then had lunch with the
Serbian Hospital Staff—it was particularly pleasant at
Tressina and Kapiniani, where the tables were laid
under shady trees and there always seemed to be a
pleasant breeze. In the afternoon every one slept, and
work was resumed about 3 o'clock. The driving at
night was rather difficult ; it was, of course, forbidden to
carry lights, and the narrow roads were blocked by end-
less processions of hay or provision carts and the long
convoys of A.S.C. Ford vans carrying munitions to the
foot of the mountains, whence they were carried to the
trenches by mules. It was intereresting work, the men
were pathetically grateful (gratitude seems to be a
Serbian characteristic), and the sitting case on the front
seat with the driver would begin eagerly to tell her
about his family, and on the slightest provocation would
produce the photographs of all his relatives and insist on
her looking at them. Later on, to prevent the daily
waste of time and petrol in getting to the distant dress-
ing-stations, a small advanced camp was formed at
Kosturian ; two or three charming mud huts were put

“imok,
‘ations
valley,

maps
in the

) a.m.,
eeded
morn-
ins by
point
d our
> Our
pitals
1 the
Nt at

laid
be a
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ie at
en to
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long
o the
» the
men
be a
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her
‘ould
st on
laily
reSs-
, at
put

THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 303

up for us by the Serbs, and we pitched our tents ina
mulberry grove. Though very hot and dusty, this was
a very pleasant camp, and those of us who were not on
duty were kept busy entertaining the visitors. They
also took us to one or two of the performances at the
regimental field theatres, and one was driven to the con-
clusion that every Serb is an actor by instinct.

“ During the influenza epidemic the ambulances were
very busy: on one occasion four cars were on duty con-
tinuously from 7 a.m. on one day to 7 a.m. the next.
The drivers came in full of energy, and were bitterly
disappointed at being ordered to bed.

“All through the summer, preparations were being
pushed forward for the autumn offensive, and there were
fresh rumours every day as to when it would begin. The
Serbs were full of hope : znthusiasm, but later on
there was some apprehensic lest something should go
wrong at the eleventh hour, and a comparatively smal
though important advance was all that most people
dared hope for. It meant so much to them, and their
enthusiasm and excitement when they succeeded beyond
their wildest dreams is indescribable. The officers said
that it would have been quite impossible to stop the
men if they had tried: the one cry was, ‘Send us
munitions—never mind the food, bring shells’; and the
British A.S.C. men and the French lorry drivers toiled
indefatigably day and night to keep them supplied.

‘When the offensive began, seven ambulances went
over Kaziak with the Second Army and accompanied
them (over roads which could only be regarded as a bad
practical joke) through Kavadar, Negotin, and Slitip to
Veles, where they met the Hospital and the rest of the
Transport. The S.W.H. suffered a good deal from lack
of warm clothes and of food, in spite of the chivalrous
efforts of some of the Serbian officers—notably Colonel

Sit rte inionnapesteme nti

saalstas taematieeiaene

304 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

(afterwards General) Zhievanovitch. Two drivers were
also sent back seriously ill to Salonika.

“In the meantime the rest of us broke up the camp
at Vibliani, and after a short and useful though uncom.
fortable pause at Donii Pojar (there were millions of flies
and five dead horses or mules within smelling distance !)
proceeded to Monastir by road. At this point the
weather broke and we camped at Vertekop for a few
days in seas of mud. Then began the unforgettable
journey through Serbia. We passed over the famous
Babuna Pass, where St. Sava appeared to lead the
Serbian troops to victory, and all the way in both direc-
tions there were endless streams of French lorries,
Serbian carts, A.S.C. Ford vans, Serbian and French
infantry, and Bulgarian prisoners finding their own way
to the rear. At Skoplje we all met again, but after a
few days, leaving the Hospital and a few cars behind, the
ambulance section went forward with the Headquarters
of the Second Army. We went through Serbia to Uzice
on the Bosnian frontier, seeing the most indescribably
beautiful scenery and the most heartrending scenes of
human misery. The mountains were clothed in all the
glory of their autumn colours, the sun shone on the
snow-sprinkled peaks and the rivers dashing below, and
along the muddy roads trudged weary old-young men,
who, their constitutions undermined by malaria, were
now collapsing under the strain of the campaign or
falling hopeless victims to the influenza epidemic.

“At Prishtina and Mitrovitza, in addition to the
evi uation of the patients we made several journeys,
distributing hospital material, of which the local hospitals
were almost entirely destitute; the men were lying on
the floor on straw like cattle, and the mortality from
pneumonia was terrible. There were two reasons for
this: in the first place, the enemy had taken away or

rs were

e camp
uncom-
of flies
tance!)
nt the
a few
ettable
famous
id the
| direc-
lorries,
French
vn way
after a
nd, the
uarters
» Uzice
ribably
snes of
all the
on the
w, and
x men,
, were
ign or

to the
irneys,
s pitals
ing on
y from
yns for
way or

77h eer mati

THE TRANSPORT COLUMNS 305

destroyed all hospital and other stores ; and in the second,
transport into Central Serbia had brokendown completely,
the bridges, even the smallest, having been destroyed,
There was an epidemic of Spanish influenza among the
M.T. companies,’ and owing to the unexpectedly rapid
advance and the breaking of the weather, a tremendous
strain was put on the motor transport systems, and there
were of course no railways at all. We gained a little
insight into what war prices could be when we were told
that coffee, when obtainable, was 250 francs a kilo, and
a reel of cotton had cost 23s.

“Farther north towards Belgrade things were a little
better, though food and hospital requisites were terribly
scarce. Everywhere we were received with the most
touching cordiality and hospitality ; in many of the towns
we passed through they had never seen aa Englishwoman
before, much less a woman chauffeur—in fact, they had
to invent a new feminine form of the word ‘chauffeur’
to meet the emergency.

“At Uzice we found that the mountain passes into
Bosnia had become impracticable—ten men and four
oxen failed to get a Ford van through—so we turned
back, and, passing through Mladanovatz, with its broken
fountain, reached Belgrade on 18th December.

“While we were in Belgrade we and the Yellak Unit
were inspected by the Prince Regent, and received
decorations from him. The gold medal received by
the drivers is a valuable decoration not often given.
We were now under orders to rejoin our own Hospital
at Sarajevo, and as there is no bridge over the Danube
we had to ask for a barge from Admiral Troubridge and
drive the cars on to it. This was a rather dangerous
proceeding—the front wheels of one car shot over the
_ ‘The Biitish Tomiies we read of jater in the S.\W.H. at Vranja were
Grawn larsely from thes 11 T. companies.

it
Fadl |

306 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

edge of the barge, and we nearly lost car and driver in
the Save. Then we drove the cars on to railway trucks,
and after a sleepless but amusing night in the waiting-
room we left Semlin on Christmas Day at about 8 a.m.,
and finished our journey by rail. We had secured a
Christmas turkey ir Belgrade, and he created some
consternation by disappearing at Semlin; a vigorous
search, however, discovered him in an empty petrol
can. When we reached Sarajevo we found ourselves
in civilisation again, and at the end of the most interest-
ing part of our work, but we never succeeded in reach-
ing the end of the kindness of our Serbian and Jugo-Slav
friends: no words could exaggerate the cordiality and
hospitality with which we were treated by the Serbian
officers or by our civilian friends in Cacak, Sarajevo, or
Zagreb. It made one feel deeply grateful to have had
an opportunity of doing anything, however small, to
bring about the enfranchisement of so fine a people.”

* # * x x * x

“It has been wonderful to hear on all sides in
Belgrade of the magnificent work done by Miss Dillon's
and Miss Robinson’s transports. Every soldier and
officer I met spoke most enthusiastically of our women
drivers, and of their heroism during the last advance.
Especially admired was their sang-froid when some-
thing went wrong with their ambulances, and shells and
aeroplanes were about.” *

1 From a private letter to the Editor.

‘iver in
trucks,
vaiting-
8 am.,
sured a
1 some
igorous
’ petrol
irselves
nterest- AN GROUP OF “TENTS AT OstTROVO,
| reach-
x0-Slav
ity and
Serbian
evo, or
ve had
all, to
-ople.”
*

ides in ee ee eee]
Dillon's |
er and |
women
ivance.

some-
IIs and _ = me ° Scat |

i
|

|
|
|
|

CHAPTER IV
VRANJA

E have seen how the round of work the Scottish
Women were proud to do for Serbia was com-
pleted by their entry into Belgrade with the triumphant
army. But though the circle was completed, the work
by no means came to an end when the Transport
Column was demobilised. If we are still to follow the
Scottish Women in their last venture, we must retrace
our steps from Belgrade back past the familiar-sounding
names in the north till we reach the town of Vranja in
the centre of Serbia. Here we shall find in November
1918 the Unit from Ostrovo, now under Dr. Emslie, who
had moved from their beautiful camp by the lake there,
to take over from the Serbs the hospital at Vranja.
This was a huge building with a long frontage and
wings jutting out to the back at each end. It was
formerly a barracks, and required much attention before
it could properly fulfil the new requirements. As the
hospital was the only one within a radius of fifty miles,
it was full to overflowing with patients; but much
had to be done in the way of cleaning and making
provision for lighting and for hot water—no easy task
in the case of such a large building.

In the delightful letter which follows, written by Mrs.
Green, Administrator to the Unit, we get a detailed
account of the move from Ostrovo to Vranja, and of the
work the Unit had to do on their immediate arrival.

308 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS
“VRANJA, SERBIA, 4th Movember.

“IT know you will be wondering where we are anc
what we are doing. As you know, the advance on the
Balkan front came very suddenly, and things happened
before one could think or realise what was happening
About a month ago we had orders from our Director of
Medical Service to evacuate all patients, and prepare to
go to Serbia at once, as our help was urgently needed.
Every one helped with a right good will, Matron and
Miss Barker doing colossal work. Dr. Emslie and I
started for Serbia to see where our Hospital was to be.
Miss West drove us nearly all the way, and we took a
Serb driver with us als. as we were anxious to do the
trip in as short a time as possible, and arranged that
Miss West and the Serb should relieve one another.
The first day we got as far as Skoplje, and that, in spite
of having to pass many Bulgarian dusséus leaving Serbia.
They looked tolerably well cared for, and not as if they
had been starved or neglected in any way. Officers and
men saluted us as we passed. We arrived at Skoplje
about 8 o'clock at night, and got a room in the Hospital
where Colonel Vladosavlovitch was staying. He was
delighted to find that we were moving so quickly, and
said that the need for us was very terrible. Next day
we started early and arrived at Vranja about 6 o'clock.

‘The Hospital is an enormous building, and was
originally used as a barracks. Doctors and_ students
were working night and day, and patients were pouring
in all the time. The doctors attaciied to the ambulance
wanted us to take charge at once, but of course we could
not. They were auxious to get on behind the army,
where the need was even greater.

“Next day we returned to Skoplje, where we spent the
night, and again saw Vladosavlovitch, who to!d us that
he could not help us in any way about transport, as all

ember.

are and
on the
ppened
pening.
=ctor of
pare to
ieeded.
‘on and
and |
; to be,
took a
do the
-d that
nother.
nN spite
Serbia.
if they
rs and
koplje
ospital
le was
y, and
xt day
lock.
d was
udents
uring
ulance
could
army,

nt the
s that
as all

VRANJA 309

the Serbian convoys had gone on to Nish; however,
he begged us to try to help the Serbs, as there were
no doctors or nurses available to do anything. Dr.
Emslie reassured him by telling him that we had already
arranged for the removal of our personnel and for part
of our equipment at least—the most necessary thinvs to
start our work with. I may tell you that the prospects
were appalling, hundreds of patients wanting help of
every kind, and practically no food in the country—
coffee, £4 a kilo; tea, £4, 10s. ; sugar, 35 drs., or about
41, 10s, a kilo, and everything in proportion, and very
little to be got even at those prices -so that the day after
we arrived at Ostrovo I hurried down to Salonika to
collect all the food, drugs, and equipment that I could
manage to get. General Fortescue was very good, and
gave me permission to buy what I wanted from the
British Ordnance. The Red Cross people also were
very good, and gave mc 100 sheets, 100 pillow-slips,
100 prs. socks, 100 prs. pyjamas, 6 sacks flour,
100 Ibs. sugar, 2 boxes of milk, 1 case coffee, and
a few other things. We got all the equipment packed
on to the railway wagons, and Dr. Blake and three of
the orderlies went with it to Monastir.

“ Before I go further, | must tell you how absolutely
overjoyed we were to find that our long-looked-for Selden
lorry had arrived in Salonika in time to help us to
bring our Sisters here. Our old Selden and the G.M.C.
lorry. took all our stuff to the railway station, so that we
did not need any outside help at all. The Kelly Spring-
field lorry made many journeys to the station, but finally
broke its axle and had to be sent to Salonika to be re-
paired, so that the new Selden got a wonderful reception
when we got back to Ostrovo with it. We were a most
imposing-looking convoy when we started with 2 touring-
cars, small Ford van, 3 ambulances, 2 Seldens, and

ns thence iat nantes:

ae th ptt Se pt

Merten natn ert ei

api abinienat ntniuenasntratiatie en | plahcstanuer ‘ne

310 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

the G.M.C. lorry. There were so many Sisters in each,
with the bare necessaries of life in their haversacks, and
food enough for a five days’ journey. Each car carried
a small Serbian flag which we had made, and the leading
car had a small Union Jack. All our Sisters were in
splendid spirits at the prospect of really good work, and
all were in excellent health; and I felt very thankful, as
Spanish influenza was very bad here, and I was anxious
that they should all keep fit. In Monastir I met a man
who had trekked through Albania with us, and we had
shared our food with him, so he was anxious to help us.
He was running a Y.M.C.A. canteen, and he gave us
a place behind his tents for our wagons to stand for the
night. His men made tea for the whole formidable
party, and gave us tables and benches so that we could
have our supper in comfort. Each member of our Unit
was allowed to carry a small haversack containing
necessaries, also a camp bed, ground sheet, pillow, and
two blankets, so that we were able to be quite comfort-
able. We were lucky enough to have lovely moonlight
for our journey, and it was rather a wonderful sight to
see our rows of little beds with the Sisters sleeping
placidly, while a few yards away guns, ammunition,
and soldiers of many nationalities passed along in
a steady stream. We were up bright and early, and
soon ready. As our car was leading and doing su
well, Dr. Emslie suggested that we should hurry on
and try to get some place for the Unit to sleep in at
Veles. In all the villages through which we passed
we found Serbian flags flying, and every one looking
relieved and expectant, as of course the Serbs were
hurrying back as fast as ever they could to their homes.

“We arrived in Veles about 8 o'clock, and were
lucky enouch to find two of the ‘Elsie nglis’ Unit,
who took us to the house where they had got rooms

each,
s, and
arried

ading
ere in
<, and
ful, as
1xious
a man
e had
‘Ip us.
ve us
or the
idable
could
Unit
uning
v, and
mfort-
nlight
rht to
eping
nition,
ny in
7, and
ng SU
ry on
in at
assed
poking
were
ymes.
were
Unit,

rooms

iba ctvenibbaistin

VRANJA 311

for the night. Our party did not turn up, but spent the
night at the top of the Babuna Pass, where the Serbs
once fought so valiantly, and they did not arrive until
about 2 o'clock next day. As the Selden had not put
in an appearance, we decided to spend the night in Veles,
and the Serbian Prefect gave us the village school to
sleep in. I had to forage round and get food for my
Unit, and fortunately I was able to get enough for them
all, though food was certainly very scarce and a terrible
price. Next day we started early, after I had raided
the British canteen and collected as much food as
possible for the remainder of the journey. The
day was fine and sunny, and some of the scenery
through which we passed was very wonderful. Up
and down over those beautiful mountains we went,
passing and repassing endless streams of traffic going
and coming over hills and passes, until we came to a
small village where we had lunch. This consisted of
tongue—which we had got from the British canteen—and
bread, as well as tomatoes, cheese, and pears, which I
bought in the village, so that we had quite a banquet in
the main street with all the inhabitants looking on.
That night we got to Skoplje about dusk, and went
to Lady Paget's old hospital, where we found some
of the Serbian Relief people busy getting the place into
order. They were very kind and helped us to get hot
water for tea, and we spent quite a comfortable night
there. After supper we went to see Dr. Chesney and
her people, who had just arrived to work there; their
hospital was quite full, and every one was very busy.
Lots of our old patients , eeted us in Skoplje. We
were glad to find that the town had not been very much
destroyed, but most of the railway bridges and telegraph
and telephone systems were blown up, and there was
useless and wanton waste everywhere,

ae ee

312. SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

“We arrived in Vranja about 8 o'clock, and felt our
spirits a little damped, as the night was very cold and it
was raining hard, and no preparations had been made
for us; however, we soon got beds put up in one of the
wards, and after rather a scanty supper we went to bed.
In the morning we found the ground white with snow,
and the cold intense. The Serbian ambulance left the
Hospital about 6 o'clock in the morning, and we all set
to work to do what we could to vet some of the wards
cleaned up. Patients had simply poured into Vranja
during the advance, and at times there were 1500
patients stowed away in all sorts of odd corners, but
by the time we arrived there were only about goo.
Four Serbian doctors and a few medical students had
worked heroically, and treated not only the wounded
and sick in hospital, but all the people in the town who
were suffering from Spanish influenza. They had done
splendid work, but, as you can imagine, there was no time
for cleaning or keeping sanitary arrangements i any
kind of order, so that our tasks at first seemed almost
too enormous.

* Miss Barker has been a perfect tower of strength,
and has tackled the most appalling and disgusting
difficulties with splendid courage and cheeriness, |
can never say enough for the way every one has buckled
to and worked, and it has been work under the very
greatest possible difficulties, as we did not possess a
single brush, duster, pail, nor a single piece of soap,
and yet the wards vot cleaned with brushes made from
branches cut from the trees round the Hospital. They
have performed wonders in one short week, but, as you
can imagine, there is a great deal still to be done. This
is an enormous building, originally used as a barracks, and
there are many outhouses of all sorts, a good garage
with concrete floor, excellent places for storing all our

‘
)

elt our
and it
made
of the
o bed,
snow,
“ft the
all set
wards
Vranja

1500
s, but
ACO;
ts had
unded
n who
done
O time
1. any
ilmost

eng th,
usting
yl
ickled
- very
ess a
soap,
from
They
S you
This
s, and
arage

ll our

VRANJA 313

things. We are terribly badly needed, as there is no
doctor in the place, and such an amount of illness. In
one of the wards we found several English Tommies
suffering very much from influenza; one especially,
boy , was very ill and died next morning. We
were glad to be here and see that he was decently
buried. We made a wreath and cross of lovely flowers,
and as many nurses as could get away went to his
funeral. His comrades carried him to the cemetery, and
Dr. Emslie read a short burial service at the grave. We
did feel so sad that we had not been able to come a day
or two sooner; however, the doctor and Sisters have
done wonders for the other boys, and they are improving
wonderfully. We have eleven of them in at present,
and all sorts of people come craving to be admitted,
so that I think it would be difficult to find & more cosmo-
politan hospital anywhere.

‘T don’t suppose the censor would like me to tell
you too much about the awful condition of things here.
The people say the Germans took all the food and useful
inaterial of every kind out of the country before they
left, so that the deprivation has been terrible ; but we are
going to do all that we can for the poor suffering people
here, and I can assure you that the efforts of the
S.W.H are much appreciated by every one—the Serbs,
French, and British. If it is possible, we want all the
warm clothing we can vet—shirts, pyjamas, socks,
mufflers, bec ‘ing, blankets ; everything is needed badly ;
men, women, and children are nearly naked. The roads,
of course, will be very difficult during the winter, but we
are hoping that the railway from Salonika will soon
be repaired, and that we can get things brought up
more a

‘Forgive a hurried, incoherent, rambling letter, but

ik, its

Miss S——, one of Miss Dillon’s girls, has just come in

314, SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

from Nish en route for England, and I want to sen
this by her in the morning, so that you will know wha
we are doing.

“T have sat up nearly all night to write it, and
have had a very strenuous day. We are working hard
and the suffering and sadness all round one are simph
terrible. A poor Serbian officer was brought in un
conscious two nights ago. To-day he insisted upor
getting up and going on to Skoplje. He was mos
unfit to go out, and Dr. Emslie and I did our best t
persuade him to remain for a night or two longer. Ther
he told us his pitiful tale, how he had gone up into Serbiz
with his heart full of joy and hope that, after three year:
of separation, he was to see his wife and little childrer
again in the home he loved. But he had found i
burnt to the ground and a new coffee-house arranged
in the ruins, and his wife and little children hanged by
the Bulyars. He said he was only one of many officers
who had the same experience. ‘Most of them shot
themselves or went mad, but I have come on to find
my regiment, as my men were left behind at Skoplje and
may not be able to get rations until I return. When I
have made arrangements for them I will take something
to make me sleep and sleep! I am not ill at all with
any ordinary curable iilness, but just my heart is broken,
and ! don’t want to live.’ I took him to the mess-room
and gave him Serbian coffee, and got him to eat a little,
and it seemed to comfort him to talk, but he insisted on
leaving the Hospital and going off to Skoplje. I fear
there is terrible suffering and sorrow in store for many
of the poor Serbs, and the end of the war will only mean
the beginning of fresh sorrows for many of them. On
the other hand, there will be some happy meetings. |
brought letters and a parcel from a doctor in Vodena
to his wife and children who live here, and it was

VRANJA,

to send
yw what

sands!
1g hard,
> simply
in un-
d upon
iS most
best to
Then
. Serbia
e years
shildren
yund it
rranged
ged by
officers
m shot
to find
je and
Vhen |
rething
ull with
oroken,
S-room
a little, | a Dr. ae l eo
ted on : ie doe ing
I fear
> many
y mean
1 On
gs. |
odena
it was

VRANJA 315

delightful to see their joy. His two children threw
their arms round me and begged me to take them to
daddy. His wife was very quiet, and unable to realise
that her husband was really alive, but his old mother’s
joy was too wonderful. He was her only son, and she
had mourned for him for three years, as they told
her that he was dead! And so the time goes on—
interesting things happening all the while, and the days
never long enough for all that has got to be done.
When I feel extra tired I go into the English Tommies’
ward, and it revives me to see them looking so com-
fortable and so appreciative.”

Dr. Emslie, C.M.O, of the Unit at Vranja, had
worked with the S.W.H. in the Girton and Newnham
Unit, under Dr. Louise M‘ilroy, since 1915. She has
done wonders at Vranja. It is no easy task to take
over a hospital full of patients, which has been carried
on without a sufficient staff of doctors, with no nurses
and no proper organization, and to convert it into an
orderly and efficient institution. It was this task which
faced Dr. Emslie at Vranja, and which she performed
with marked courage and success. In the quotations from
her letters which follow, the story of Vranja is continued.

From other sources we learn of the candle-lit
corridors and wards in the first weeks before electric
light was installed, and of the ward full for many a day
of British Tommies—“ our own Boys,” as Dr. Inglis
called them,

“WVRANJA, 9th November 1918.

“Tt will be a fortnight to-morrow evening since we
arrived at Vranja, and it seems years already. All of
us arrived together, as we kep_ ::. convoy the whole way.
We took five days to do the trek. Mrs. Green managed
the food part so well that we always had enough to eat,

316 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

I shall try to write you, later on, all about that journe
with its interests and_ its pathos, its dangers ar
difficulties.

“T felt very much the responsibility of bringing
the Staff here, and the creat difficulty of getting o
material up—however, [| sew that here in Vranja wa
the plaice for work. [ never have seen work like it, an
so I determined by any means to get the Unit up there

“T had them all together at Ostrovo, told then
about the difficulties and dangers, and gave them th
chance of going home. They decided to come on, anc
here we are at Vranja, and nearly all our material
which has to come the whole way from Monastir t
Vranja in lorries.

“T cannot say how much we owe to the Heads o
the French and British ‘Transports, who have put us
before everybody else, including themselves, in giVINg us
transport. They have not any hospitals yet of their
own—only two small detention-tent hospitals for the
British, and these fifty and a hundred miles from here.
The British have asked us to take the Tommies, which
we are very vlad to do—and they much appreciate
being with us. We have all nationalities——French,
English, Serb, Roumanian, Bulgar, Austrian, and German
officers and men—and Colonel Vladosavlovitch has told
us to receive any of the Allies,

“When we arrived here, we found an absolutely filthy
building with 450 very ill patients in it—each case
almost a probiem in itself, The medical cases nearly all
were broncho-pneumonia_ or pneumonia, pleurisy, and
empya'mia—most of them very serious: and the surgical
cases were appalling—many needing Operation, and all
the dressin’ vere just as they had been first put on.

“We | os an out-patient department running on
until 7 p,~, 7 the evening — chiefly women and

journey,
ers and
ging ||
ting a)

Nja was
e it, and
p there.
ld them
fem the
on, and
fatertal
astir to

eads of
put us
ving us
of their
for the
m here.
, which
yreciate
“rench,
serman
as told

y filthy
h case
ily all
y, and
urgical
ind all
on,

ng on

OT IEE SS e. --,

bia
w
Fs

VRANJA 317

children from the village, where the conditions are just
awful at present. They have had no doctors all this time,
and still have none, and are in very bad condition from
poor feeding. We have had already to do a great
mary immediate operations on children who have been
wounded by bombs and still are being wounded by the
shelis exploding. The injuries are terrible, and we have
had several poor little hands to amputate, and often they
have terrible abdominal wounds. These children we
have got to take in, but all other civilians we are keeping
out in the meantime, as we have far too many soldiers
as itis. Perhaps later on we may be able to take in and
operate on some of the most imperative civilian cases.

“We have had to do a few urgent cases in the
village, and Dr. McKenzie and I try each to go there
for an hour a day; it is really our recreation, even
though one is working the whole time in the villaze—
itis a change. It is heart-breaking not to be able to
look after everyone and receive all who want to come
to hospital, but unfortunately the day is only twenty-four
hours long and our Hospital has not elastic sides.

“The Hospital will actually hold 300 beds com-
fortably when we are settled, as one wine I have shut
off for a nurses’ home, and part of the other for an out-
patients’ department. If we are still here in summer,
however, I shall put the whole nursing Staff in tents.

‘T have wired you for ten nurses and one doctor,
preferably with some laboratory experience, so that she
could run the laboratory, typhoid, dysentery, and malaria
work especially.

“Dr. Blake and Dr. McKenzie seem to be enjoying
the work immensely, and are at it from morning till
night, and often during the night. We are all awfully
happy together, and everybody seems to be enjoying
every minute of the work.”

318 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

“VRANJA, 8th December 1918.

“We are still just as busy as we were when we fir
arrived, and I think we are likely to be so all the winte
as there seems to be no probability of other hospite
coming to Vranja. Nish and Skoplje are the neare:
and even there they are dreadfully overworked. \
are trying to keep our numbers down in Hospital, bi
what can one do when dying people come and sit ¢
one’s doorstep? We always said the greatest wor
would be done when the Serbs arrived back in Serbi
but conditions are even worse than we thought the
would be.

“We are graduaily getting the place quite smar
and very soon it will be free of smells. The nurse
home wing is absolutely clean, has a bathing-room, an
a plentiful supply of hot water. It js quite shut o
from the rest of the Hospital, and is entered by a separat
side door.

“The mess-room is in a separate building just clos
beside the Hospital and in the grounds, and there als
is the kitchen, the washing-up room, and a huge roon
which used to be full of Bulgars in the last stage o
all sorts of disease. Now I shall have it cleaned anc
kept for 4 recreation-room, and also for the patients whc
are able to be up for meals, At present, we have
practically none fit to be up, for as soon as they are able
to get out of bed they have to be sent off all the way
up to Nish, or down to Skoplje.”

“ VRANJA, 12¢h January 1919.
‘The work increases daily, instead of showing any
signs of decreasing. I am now unable even to get the
number of patients below 350, however hard I try,
and it is generally about 367. We still are able
to take in only the very worst cases, and accidents

ber 1918.

1 we first
€ winter,
hospitals
nearest,
ad. We
ital, but
d sit on
st) work
1 Serbia,
rht they

e smart,
» nurses’
om, and
shut off
separate

Ist close
ere also
fe room
tage of
1ed and
nts who
e have
ire able
he way

y 1919.
ng any
yet the
I try,
e able

cidents

VRANJA 319

and operations, and have to turn away nearly all the
Bulgars, unless very ill. The latter are in a dreadful
state—hardly any food or clothes, sometimes they are
two or three days without food. One morning we
had three brought in, one of whom was dead;
another sat down on the doorstep and died, and the
third died on the stretcher on his way to the ward.
This may just give you a faint idea of conditions. It
is not the authorities’ fault, for the roads are so bad and
it is so difficult to get food up, and the way to our
Hospital so long, that the men cannot stand the walk.
“We are the only doctors in Vranja, or for that
matter within a radius of fifty miles. At the A’omanda
Mesta (Commandant de la Place) I still do the Aomcra
(Medical Board) for the recruits, and for the soldiers
leaving the army. There is no military doctor to do this.
‘‘We have been here now ten weeks and six days,
and are very comfortable. We have got electric light

up in all the wards, theatre, and administrative part, and
our engine is running very well. The question of wood
for heating and cooking is a iittle easier now, and life
is not quite so difficult.

“We feel almost civilised with the train only forty

miles away.”
“WRANJA, 15th February 1919.

‘|. , I have expected since our first day here to
have cases of typhus, but all went well till this spetl of
cold weather came. For the past fortnight we have had
deep snow, and sunless, miserable weather, and with
it came the typhus. I believe they have the same
outbreaks in Nish and Skoplje, and in Bulgaria, but it
is difficult to hear any definite news. They have also
some smallpox. I don’t think this will be a big

epidemic, and we are taking every possible care, and

320 SCO" SH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

have reminded the town authorities about precautio
The people have no one to help or advise them, so
have to do the best we can for them,

“While the typhus is on, I have stopped t
Bulgar patients coming to the Hospital. We we
getting crowded out with them, and if we had a tv
thousand-bed hospital we should not have enou
beds. Poor wretches most of them are, hardly like m
at all.) A number have frozen feet now, and all ;
wasted, and many demented. We still sometimes ha
as many as half a dozen brought in on willow stretche
moribund, having fallen out on the way to Hospital.
is the most ghastly sight.

“Tam afraid these poor Bulears are having a drea
ful time in their camps, but I considered, all round,
was best not to risk overcrowding while this epidem
lasts.

“T have also stopped all but the most urgent ot
patient dressings till the typhus blows over, | hope
may soon finish, as the town, the out-patients, and tl
Bulgars are suffering while it lasts.”

“goth April i919.

‘Typhus still continues. We have over 100 case
in Hospital, and the epidemic is not abating as quick]
as I thought it would.

“The question of food gives us no trouble nov
Rations are coming in regularly, and they are good
patients’ and Staff ration money is coming in dail
There is a sufficiency of wood and everything else
All these things are largely due to the train service
which now runs direct from Salonika to Vranja, an
up to Nish, but no nearer Belgrade than that.

“T told you we had taken over a German laundr

when we came first, ‘complete with every modern con

iH
i

.LS

ecautions.
em, SO we

pped the
We were
da two.

enough
like men
d all are
mes have
tretchers,
pital. It

a dread-
round, it
epidemic

rent out-
I hope it
and the

il 191g,

00 cases
s quickly

le now,
e good ;
n daily.
ng else.
service,
ya, and

laundry
ti con-

VRANJA 321

venience. We have now fifteen women working in it
and six scrubbers in the Hospital. The authorities have
agreed to pay all these people for us, so we are youlng
much more economical.

“The Hospital begins to look smarter, and the
grounds are veginning to look lovely. Our garden is
simply blooming with apple, pear, plum, and peach,
and the lilacs are going to burst in a day or two.
There are very many in the garden. With the help
of a British sergeant and some old Serbs and Bulgars
a very successful tennis court has been made, and has
been in use for the past five days. It is mud and sand,
and plays well. The Red Cross gave us the posts and
net and balls.

“ Hockey continues three times a week, and in the
meantime all are keeping fit.

“The Prefect of Vranja has given us a beautiful
little villa at Vranski Banja, and there we shall send
any ‘tired’ or convalescent Staff. It is an empty
house, very new and clean, and was used betore the
war as the doctor’s residence in connection with the
hot springs. Vranski Banja isa Serbian ‘ Baden-Baden,’
and was before the war a very fashionable place; cer-
tainly the houses are much better built than anything |
have so far seen in Serbia, but no ‘ fashionables’ have
yet arrived, I am glad to say.

* Our villa has two balconies—one along the side and
one round the front door. It stands right up on the hill
and has a gorgeous view and a nice garden. I think
we are very lucky to have it given to us, and I am sure
it will be most useful. It is just seven miles from the
Hospital, so it will be easy to reach.

“T have not told you of our one Serbian probationer.
We hope shortly to have more, as she is proving such a
success. She is Giga Achinovitch. We have dressed

isentit a ne eb gem etn

Sh svustumstercunties steanortiee
re

Ace eaamngntnteett® | Somme biiet sui

322 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

her in blue-and-white striped overall, with white col
and cuffs, and small Quaker cap, turned back with whi
She comes regularly and works very hard.

* Bishop Price and Colonel Findlay (padre) ha
been staying with us for two days on a missiun to t
troops. The Bishop left for Nish to-day and retur
in a few days to conduct service in our hall on Sund.
for ourselves and the British M.T. men. Our h;
makes a fine church, and in it three days ago the
Was solemnised a wedding—that of a British M,’
corporal and a charming Serbian girl, She looked |
sweet in white, with veil and Orange blossom. Mr
Green and I thought we ought to make some effo
to have it all very nice—not only because we knew tl
couple, but because of the alliance of the nations, ;
the whole countryside knew of the wedding. It we
absolutely Envlish, except that a Serbian priest an
crowds of Serbian people were present. Twenty «
us were in the choir. We wore white overalls and whit
veils, and carried bunches of lilac. About the sam
number of M.T. men were in the choir also. We ha
forms on each side arranged like choir stalls, and a
aisle formed by Sisters, holding long garlands and lilac
We all thought it was the prettiest wedding we ha
ever seen, and it was just arranged the evening before
The girls are so good the way they rise to things wher
they are often dead tired. They all looked very nice
at the wedding, and so bright and happy, and_ there
was no evidence of hurry, though every one had to tea
back to the wards again just as soon as the ceremony was
finished.

“Mrs. Green had a very busy time in Salonika and
a very successful one. The Red Cross, through Colonel

Fitzpatrick, have been even more generous than ever

lite collar
ith white.

Ire) have
sn to the
1 returns
1 Sunday
Our hall
go there
nh MT:
»0ked so
} = =Mrs,
ne effort
“new the
tions, as

It was
lest and
venty of
nd white
he same
We had
and dan
nd lilac.
we had
before,
x5 when
ery nice
d there
| to tear
ony was

ika and
Colonel

in ever

VRANJA a5

befor, and have given us seven or more truck loads—
large size—of Red Cross Store, including clothing, food-
stuffs, and hospital equipment. Colonel Fitzpatrick
hopes to come and see us in about a month's time, on
his way to Belgrade.”
VRANJA, 28¢h May 1919.

“Dran Mrs. Russeiy,—Many thanks for your letter
of the 29th April, and also for the medals which arrived
by Sister Aitken. We are all charmed with them. |
think they are most beautifully designed and finished.
The workmanship is so fine, and each little detail—the
barette even—is so perfect. I have heard several of the
Sisters say, ‘Td much rather wear this than any other
medal | could get... We are wearing it on the right side,
more as a hespital badge.

“Our coming and going members are being put
it the American Red Cross in Salonika now, with
which Society we are on the most friendly terms. The
M.1..O. advises the American Red Cross at once of
arrival, and it is all very simple and comfortable.
We vive them hospitality here when they pass, and
they have given us a great deal of material one way

I Serbian Relief Fund, too, are giving Mrs.
Green a quantity of clothing for distribution. We are
on very e od terms with this Society too. They are
most accommodating in putting up our members passing
through Skoplie, and we are hardly ever without some
of their people passing through or coming for a few

Cs |

and nother.
ris

)
days’ holiday.
“The villa at Vranski Banje is in full swing. — It

looks more charming than ever. It is well built,

ani is certainly quite the most modern - looking
:

1 T 1

¥ se Er Tees eenguann Of gene er ees i hac ee her
HOUSE i HAVE SECO In V Feallja. i Tas calee. «ole

1 5 ober Seige [ena

SSrsatdtitalaermasktears nel-ssoshingelteeewwr:----rsateagaamse eee em

cieiaurureeheraee oat ee

EES ’“e ae

324 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

rooms and one sitting-room, all done up most tas
fully by Miss Munn, a very good kitchen, and a n
garden and two large verandahs, There is also
room for the man and his wife who live out there alway
She cooks and cleans, and he attends to the outsi
arrangements and, as he is by trade a bootmaker, men:
shoes for the Hospital.

“Then I have a room for a dispensary there, wi
doors of its own and a separate entrance to the hous
The people come from the surrounding villages f
dressings, medicines, and to have their eyes and ea
looked after. At present I have the two America
nurses lent by the American Red Cross out ther
and they are working the dispensary, They vet o
so well with all our girls, and it is so nice to have a
inter-Ally feeling about it. | am getting things fron
the Americans, too, to stock this dispensary. They ar
all very keen about it.

“Tam running a lorry out there three times a week
with supplies, and it should carry about six members
with it cach time. They love going to our little home
and the whole place is Just a fairyland of Howers.

“We never get below our three hundred and {
patients, and are not even yet admitting all; but now
we are able to take in cervical adenitis and more
chronic cases for operation, and hope soon to have a
fifteen-bedded ward instead of Our present six-bedded
room for women. (It really has ten in it.) We hope
soon :tlso to have a children’s ward. Typhus has practi:
cally ceased now, and all the Staff at present are abso.
lutely fit. We have therefore taken the Opportunity «f
doing up the Sisters’ sick-room, It is done in natural
holland (from the Red Cross) and that beautiful
cretonne you sent us. It is in shades of blue, purple,
aad rose, and everything is arranged tu match—a little

Ost taste-
1d a nice
s also a
e always,
> outside
r, mends

re, with
e house.
1ves for
ind ears
merican
t there,
get on
have an
rs from
hey are

a week
embers
! home,

nd ft)
it now
more
Nave a
edded
> hope
practi-
abso-
lity of
atural
Lutiful
urple,
little

VRANJA 925

cretonne settee, cushions, and electric light shade, etc.
We are doing the officers’ ward up in practically the
same style,

“T told you in my last letter of the tuberculosis
patients that Prince Alexander's Hospital wished us
to take. Weare able now to receive them, so seventeen
of them are coming quite soon. We are putting a
tent up for the ones that are pretty well, and the others
will go into a ward and will stay out in the verandahs
all day and perhaps, later on, at night.

“We have had steady rain for six weeks now, except
for perhaps two or three hours’ sunshine in the after-
noon, In spite of this the garden is getting on, the
seeds are all coming up and soon will be ready for trans-
planting, and the rose trees are just covered with buds.

“We have great help in the outside work by two
English soldiers, Ecklorff and Doran, left behind with
us by their Companies. We hope to get permission
to keep them till they are demobilised. They work
a squad of Bulgars. It is charming to see how these
men get on with an Englishman.

“We have still a few British Tommies in hospital.
When they are well they will be sent to Salonika to
report for home.

“Tt was rather touching how when the Envlish
Companies left here several of the Tommies came to me
and asked if they could stay to ‘protect’ us, as they
couldn't bear the thought of leaving us all alone in
Vranja. A

# * * * ~ ~ *

The work of this Hospital in Vranja-—the last of the
Scottish Women's Hospitals to be closed—recalls in
many respects the labours of the other Units, and, com-

of the history.

1 ng nee pede oh a

eat bs pe afte een caniebin panetiat

{
i

it
i
i

|
H |

combed That uuackl toate te

3206, SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

As we read of the cleaning that had to be de
o: their arrival, and of the Staff finding their way aby
the enormous building by the dim light of candles,
are reminded of the first fortnight in’ the Abbey
Royaumont.

The typhus epidemic fought so bravely carr
us back in memory to Kraguievatz, where the Scotti
Women’s connection with Serbia began.

And the British Tommies, as they streamed jn
the Hospital with their oft-repeated “ Ah, Sister, if tl
Scottish Women had been here sooner none of us wou
have died!” remind us of the original idea of t}
founders of the S.W.H. when their first Unit, magni
cently equipped, and with a C.M.O, -of Miss
calibre, was offered to the British War Office.
tape blocked the Way to its acceptance.
quiet force which comes from patience,
determination to serve always where they were mos
needed, the Scottish Women attained in the end the}
primary object, having previous to its fuliilment serve:
in a wider field and on more extensive battle fronts tha;
even their fearless Founder had dreamed of in 1O14.

Iven
Re
But with th

and from. th

From a4 Britisy MorTHER

* To Dr. Emslie, c/o Scottish Women’s Hospital,
Vranja, Serbia

“Dear Dr. Emsure,—!] cannot refrain from Writing
you a short note, to say how grateful
to hear of the very great kindness and tender care which
yourself and your Staff of the above hospital have shown
towards my son and the other
I also realise that yourself

under difficulties very great indeed, which | can hardly

and pleased I am

+ = ees . . e . = %
yet believe to be true. I have indeed been comforted

LS VRANJA
bias

ak Att tian Aone!
be done by the knowledge that all was don
: 7 : : others ot
vay about Iam sure that the other m thers
rot § n active sery in
*S, We ave also got sons 0 e in y
ndles, wi have < gor what has been done for the
Abbey of also appreci e Lechter ame ieee
“Accept, dear friend, my dee;
ae See a |
a1 ( > faithfully,
y Carries all I can offer. —Yours faithful

oC Sed.)

- Scottish
Note.—The Hospital at Vrar
ned_into ine s taking up the work of C.M.O
er, if the
us Would
tof the
macnifi-
S Ivens’
Red
with the
rom. the
re most
id their
served
Its than
O14.

Vital,

Writing
d Iam

‘which

“fe stisttemeetne: song goes amma ant

she Wh
sharve,

orking

forted

ssosetah <potensmenitsnitnbisnmentnntritsin site matt

pisstnedlies | eepesiesactiarttkoaddgrseelben '

;
:
{

PART VII: THE GIRTON AND
NEWNHAM UNIT

CHAPTER I
TROYES AND SALONIKA

HE Girton and Newnham Unit, whose work is
described in this chapter, began its career in
May 1915 under Dr. Louise MclIlroy of Glasgow and
Dr. Laura Sandeman of Aberdeen. Six months’ work
at Troyes in France, a few weeks’ strenuous labour at
Guevgueli in Serbia, and then three years of work at
Salonika, form the outline of its story. One last journey
completes the history of this Unit. After the Armistice
was signed it moved, with the complete equipment of
the Hospital, to Belgrade, where it will form the nucleus
of the Elsie Inglis Memorial Hospital. All the time
under the French War Office it earned the gratitude
both of the French and Serbian Armies by its devotion
to their sick and wounded. In point of time this is the
fourth Unit, and its story might have been told after
that of the Valjevo Unit. But as it was amongst the
last to cease its activities under the S.W.H. Committee,
and was chosen to inaugurate at the end of the war
the work of the hospital which is to help to commemorate
the name of Dr. Elsie Inglis amongst the people of her
devotion, the description of this Unit suitably finds a
place here, at the end of the volume.
The early days of this Unit at Troyes are sketched
for us by Dr. McIlroy and Mrs Harley :
‘In May 1915, the French War Office indicated to
the S.W.H. Commitice that it would be willing to accept
339

i Sa a

4 peers

Beeps mur ox

besiipiieins teenies | alt Dae

sean eo

330 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

to be accommodated under canvas. The place chos
was at Troyes, in the Champagne district, and
mansion-house situated in beautiful grounds) w
secured for the Staff. Mrs. Harley acted as a
ministrator, and did much to further the interests ai
welfare of the Hospital with the authorities. Dp
Hospital was placed directly under the War Offic
and from its inception there has been nothing b
courtesy and kindness received from the French Arn
officials. No resident French officer has been put

charge, nor at any time has the medical or surgic
work of the Hospital been questioned. Perfect freedo:
of judgment has been accorded for treatment and {i
the performance of all operations. Dr. Laura Sandema
was physician in charge of the medical beds,

“In the early days of the war the French utilise
all the available buildings, such as schools and_ hall:
for their hospital accommodation, and had made litt]
use of tents, except for ambulances or field service work
The fact that this small Scottish hospital was unde
canvas was a source of very great interest to th
authorities. General de Torcy, who was the office
in command, and General Tousseau, the medica
director, were unfailing in their help. The beds wer
accommodated in large marquees, the latter holding
twenty in each, the addition of sectional wooden floors
contributing much to the comfort and appearance of
the tents. The wards were lighted by electricity, The
operating theatre was in the orangerte, and was ideal in
its accommodation with regard to light and air space.” !

“Will your readers in imagination follow me to the
historical old town of Troyes, and, about a mile and a
half from the railway station, pass through two large

* Dr. Meliroy’s report.

a Unit, and accordingly we were sent out with 250 be

250 beds,
-e chosen
t, and a
ids Was
as ad-
rests and
s. The
r Office,
ing but
ch Army
1 put in
surgical
freedom
and for
indeman

utilised
id halls,
de little
-e work,
S under
to the
officer
medical
Is were
holding
nN floors
ance of
Eo “he
ideal in
ice,”
> to the
» and a
o large

Hal (edaaibig ails ARR ee

i
3

| fierce
|

at moar

TROYES AND SALONIKA 331

iron gates, above which, and flanked on either side by
the Union Jack and French flag, they will see in large
letters the words ‘Scottish Women’s Hospitals—
Hopital Auxihaire Bénévole 301.’ To the right of
them, they will see a long building which goes by the
name of Chateau Chanteloup, a chateau only in name,
as it is too small even to accommodate the whole Staff,
but bright and airy, with large windows. In the middle
of the Park, about a hundred yards from the house,
stand the hospital tents—a double row—arranged with
as much regularity as the ground will permit. Each
tent forms a ward, furnished with twenty beds, with pink
coverlets, small white tables, and a long, narrow table
between the two poles, with shelves underneath. Three
clever soldier carpenters have transformed the large
packing-cases into ward cupboards, which are the delight
of the Sisters. All is arranged with a view to the
economy of space, and our visitors tell us the mse ex
sccne is very attractive. Wooded walks and large trees
and flowering shrubs surround the open space for the
tents. Near at hand, a field kitchen in wood and red
brick has been built for the cooking of the patients’
food. Another wooden building has been erected for
bathrooms, besides a dressing-room, where _ septic
wounds are attended to.

‘20th June.—Our Tent Hospital is causing a great
deal of interest here, as it is practically the first experi-
ment in nursing the French soldiers under canvas,
though, of course, our Tommies have been in tent
hospitals all last winter.

‘To-day we have had our first lot of visitors round
the tents, and they have simply been delighted—our
held kitchen of red brick was specially admired, and
the ‘Salle d’ Operation’ in the orangerie is also looked
upon as marvellous. We are making it a great favour

332, SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

to see the place, and admit only by card, or we sho
be simply inundated. On the other hand, we give ac.
to any one who takes the trouble to write and ask for
or to any one who has done anything to help us wt
we have been organizing,

“We have now just about fifty patients, They ;
all so pleased here. They have nicknamed the chauffer
who bring them in ‘ The good angels who bring us
Paradise.’ It is wonderful how soon they pick up
this fresh air and sunshine.

“Tam very hopeful of the great good this Hospit
is going to do for the French soldie.s, and we al
all so happy in our work. The whole Unit
splendid.” }

In October, the Unit received orders for Salonik
from the French authorities. The following letter ex
presses the estimation in which they were held,

‘THE CHAIRMAN, Scotrisn Women’s Hospirats
FOR ForREIGN SERVICE, Epinpurcu

“15th October 1915.

‘ Dear Mapam,—One of your Units is about to
start on a new and longer journey, pursuing your work
of mercy in Eastern lands. Before they leave my
country, I must tell you how deeply grateful we are to
you, and all your very efficient and devoted workers,
Both from Royaumont and Troyes we have heard about
the wonderful skill and the great genileness of the
Scottish Women’s doctors and nurses acting like
‘ministering angels’ for the broken sons of France.

“ Their patients cannot speak too highly of the care
taken and the kindness shown them, and everybody is
very sorry your Hospital should go.

* Mrs. Harley's report.

.\LS

we should
ive a card
ask for it,

us while

They are
‘hauffeurs
Ing us to
ck up in

Hospital
We are
Unit jis

Salonika
‘tter ex-

TALS

yr 1915.

Out to
r work
ve my
- are to
orkers,
| about
of the
y like

le Care

ody 1s

hr RE de ae SE pean gas

their own

IMTESSE DE LA PANOUSE.

pea Marsilles

Hae a

Shiba 7 tor. poag

eens anc

‘¢ past the islan

uae eae

isa Was reache

SLY ARR AIRE gm edad rien

of the troops
fominion. has changed somewhat in ths

ippearances

® pe

meets
. be Ets

rn cat

RR aos

fash

Nea itm AR en OTR een

etme et Set «cman cme Se
ia

334 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

still a Turkish town, with its mosques and latt
windows. In the older quarters veiled women
still be seen in the streets. Here the East and \
seem to meet—the electric tramways on the street,
close by the patriarch in his turban, riding on his ass
“When we reported our arrival at the Bureau of
Service de Santé, orders were given us to proceec
soon as possible to Serbia, and there form one 0
small number of French hospitals at Guevgueli. A
some delay over the landing and dispatching of
equipment, the members of the Unit set out by tr
to the unknown life. One remembers the waiting
the railway station, the cold of the evening and
journey, the arrival at Guevgueli in the early mornii
the scrutiny of the Passports by Serbian military offici:
and the warm Turkish coffee which was obtained at
little inn near the station, As soun as daylight h
come we set out to interview the French medi
officials. Colonel Nicolet, the Médecin Principal, w
most courteous, and came at once to find a site fort
camp, even before he had had his morning coffee. T'
ground surrounding a silk factory was selected, ai
proved an excellent place for the Hospital. The facto
contained a large amount of machinery and stores |
cocoons. The top floor only was available for the
of the Staff and stores, Although within solid wa’)
the members often envied the patients in their wari
tents, as the so-called windows or openings were devoi
of glass, and the wind and snow were difficult to exclud:
The water supply was excellent, and the groun
was spacious. Near at hand was the river Vardar
behind rose the Serbian hills, range after rance
and beyond were visible those of Bulgaria. Thy
country was green, with here and there the stuntec
trunk of a mulberry tree. On the hills around could

ALS

nd latticed
yvomen can
and West
Street, and
his ass,
"eau of the
yroceed as
one of a
li, After
ng of the
t by train
Waiting at
- and the
morning,
y Officials,
led at the
ight had
| medical
ipal, was
te for the
ee. The
‘ted, and
© factory
stores of
r the use
id walls,
ir warn
e devoid
exclude
vround
Vardar
rane,
The
Stunted

d could

Beste iticir tdeedey ter tite PRY Ue satartcira ceaeis Behe tshs jot etija

TROYES AND SALONIKA 335

be seen the shepherds clad in their picturesque rough
cloaks, carrying their crooks, and followed by their
sheep with their tinkling bells. One here realised the
Biblical description of ‘leading their flocks.’ Some-
times a boy could be heard in the hills playing on a
reed. Here, on the surface, was all the charm and
romance of a pastoral country. Underneath were the
horrors of war. Soon we were to see the long rows of
donkeys laden with the household goods and children of
the refugees, flying before the Bulgarian invader; the
old men and women with their heartrending expression
of utter hopelessness in the future and what it will bring ;
here and there on the road lay a donkey, dead or dying,
with the dogs, half wolves, waiting in starvation their
opportunity for a meal. Although around, the hills wer:
covered with snow, there were hours of sunshine at
intervals. During the blizzard the cold was so intense
that even the ink carried in the fountain-pens became
frozen, and tea left for a short time in a cup became ice.

“While the camp was being prepared, the Military
Authorities kindly gave us shelter fora few days ina
barrack. ‘Les Dames Ecossaises’ caused much interest
by their energy and keenness in hurrying up the work.
No one was above dining off a camp bed, as tables were
not provided or indeed available in the building, or
even washing at the pump near at hand. The cooking
in the winter a.. with trench fires will never be forgotten
by the cooks, but one will also remember the cheerful-
ness of all the Staff, and their unfailing willingness to do
everything possible for the good of the wounded, who
arrived in the camp before the tents were completely
up. The officials were courteous, and rendered the Unit
every possible help. Colonel Nicolet was unfailing in
his efforts to help as much as possible. The work was
brightened by visits of encouragement from General

336 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Ruotte from Salonika, who expressed his surprise at
comfort and warmth of the patients under canvas dur
extreme cold. The bravery of the patients under tl
sufferings was indescribable. The work of the Hosp
went on, in spite of the feeling that it had all come
late and that Serbia was doomed. The guns w
sounding nearer each day, but no one would brea
the word — retreat. By degrees news was brou
down of the fall of one town after another, and so
the stations along the line were cut off from
communication.

“At last it was acknowledged that, for the prese)
gallant little Serbia was doomed, The official order |
the evacuation of all the hospitals arrived, and it y
with a feeling of relief that we saw our wounded safe
on the train. At once we began our own preparatio
for departure by packing up the equipment as fast ;
possible. Every one behaved splendidly, and the mo
highly trained nurse was not above packing pots ar
pans, or tying up tent pegs in sacks. We were full
determined nothing should be left for the enemy to mak
use of. Many of the members wished to remain 0
until the end, but being under strict military orders w
had no choice but to obey and go when sent. Th
Authorities in this way took every precaution for th
safety of the Staff and their equipment.

“Memories of the last evening spent in the cam;
will always remain. Everything had been packed anc
sent off by train, end there was nothing more to be
done, as the train lert at 2a.m. Sitting round a blazing
camp-fire in the cold, the loneliness of the hills in-
terrupted by the noise of the guns, now much nearer,
the howling of the dogs in the night—all tended to
deepen the sadness of the departure from a country now
left entircly to the enemy.

\LS

rise at the
yas during
nder their
> Hospital
come too
UNS Were
d breathe
| brought
and soon
from all

> present,
order for
1d it was
ed safely
parations
S fast as
the most
pots and
ere fully
to make
main on
rders we
iC bine
for the

le camp
ked and
e to be
blazing
ills in-
nearer,
ided to
ry now

TROYES AND SALONIKA 337

“On arrival in Salonika we found tne town packed
with troops and not a bed available in any of the hotels.
Accommodation was provided in French huts near our
present camping-ground. A considerable number of
the Unit were most comfortably taken care of for a short
time by Captain Pym on board the J/anguo, then lying
in the harbour. The present site for the Hospital was
accepted asa temporary one, until it was known what
the future would bring forth. The ground is close to
.ie sea and is cramped for space, but across the harbour
can be seen the snowclad top of Mount Olympus,
beloved of the gods.

‘Before the Hospital was ready a_ considerable
number of Serbian soldiers were sent in, suffering from
wounds and sickness. Many had the apt diagnosis of
mistre phystologigue. These patients were soon evacu-
ated on to a hospital ship. After getting the camp into
better order the Hospital was opened on New Year's
Day, and since then has been quietly and steadily doing
its work. As there was no further fighting in this
region, the supply of wounded to the hospitals ceased,
and we accordingly made ourselves usetul by admitting
medical cases. Cases of accidents sometimes were
brought in. One old Turk, ‘Oli Echref,’ having been
run over by a transport wagon, was admitted with a
fractured thigh. He was a good patient and wished
to stay with us till the end of the war! At first he
could not grasp the idea of women doing work, but he
became at last a convert to Western ideas, and was very
devoted to the Sisters who attended him.

“ Towards the end of spring the numbers entering
Hospital increased, and the beds were completely filled.
The climate in Greece has proved itself peculiarly try-
ing to the Western troops, and it was often felt, during
the intense heat, the conditions were fraught with more

Fiasacetptthianeentttedieatkene tama

aire

Se emits ght team eisai an tae + anaemia

338 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

danger than when the men were behind the firing
The cases were all acute and required constant atten
The Staff, although often ill, were splendid in their eff
to do the best possible. Their devotion to duty dese
the highest praise, as the conditions were of the n
trying. In comparison with other hospitals our sl
of sickness among the Staff was not great. Never y
more than five members of the Unit ill at the same ti
The mortality among the patients was as low as |
in the region.

‘ During the two months of July and August 1
patients were admitted. This gives some indicatior
the work done by all the different departments of
Hospital during the intense heat. So much was
work of the Hospital appreciated that the Authorit
asked us to increase our number of beds, and we acco
ingly added 36 to our original 250. Since then
havg been asked to give additional accommodation, |
have not found it possible.

“Early in October, on the recommencement
hostilities at the front, the Hospital became filled w:
wounded, and has remained so ever since. Many we
cases of serious head and abdominal wounds, ai
fractures necessitating amputations. The patients a
much interested in the pieces of projectile removed |
operation, and the Sister in charge has to careful
preserve them for each of her patients.

“The X-ray department during the spring treat
a large number of cases with high frequency electric
massage, hot air, light, and ionisation, under the directio
of Miss Edith Stoney.

“The electrical department was found so benefici:
that frequently cases were sent in from outside for dail
treatment, some of these being officers under treatmen
in other hospitals... .

ALS

firing line,
t attention,
heir efforts
y deserves
f the most
our share
Jever were
same time.
9W as any

gust 1000
dication of
nts of the

was the
Luthorities
ve accord-
then we
ation, but

ement of
led with
any were
nds, and
ients are
noved by
carefully

r treated
electrical
direction

eneficial
for daily
‘eatment

MrT ALND NBRC IESE 8

x
=
-
4
4
¢
3
;
£
2

TROYES AND SALONIKA 339

“T would like to mention our deep appreciation of
the courtesy and kindness shown to us by all the officials
inthe ‘ Service de Santé. We were always made to feel
a part of the French Army, and at no time has there
been the slightest friction in the carrying out of their
orders or of the work of the Hospital. They have given
us absolute control over the patients entrusted to us, and
they have never once questioned our methods of treat-
ment or interfered with the discipline among the
patients. ‘This attitude towards a Hospital entirely
staffed by women speaks volumes for the progress of
public opinion. ‘The Hospital owed much in its earlier
days to the influence and energy of Mrs. Harley, who
was greatly concerned with its welfare.”

Writing in January 1917, Dr. McIlroy gives an
account of the first Christmas at Salonika. ‘We have
vot our Christmas festivities over, and the patients are
vreatly delighted with all the arrangements. The Staft
vave up the day entirely to them, and we had a short
dinner only, as we spent the time in the wards. Each
patient got a little present from the British Red Cross
—cigarettes, sponge, soap, and writing-pad. We gave
also a parcel to each man—cigarettes, mittens, sweets,
biscuits, and a little toy. We had 300 francs to spend
viven us from French friends here. We gave déjexnex at

10.30, then at 2 o'clock we had the pipers of a Scottish
regimeni, and a concert got up by the French, Serbian,
and Russian patients. At tea they had a cup of tea and
a cake, supper at the usual time, and then in the evening
we sang carols. One wounded Serb said, ‘ Englesh
Christmas very much too good all right.) They were
so happy, it was delightful to see them, many poor
maimed soldiers. Others will never see another
Christmas. We felt we must give the Serbians at least
an idea of the happiness the British diffuse at their

3
Pi: 340 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Christmas-time, and the Statf were indeed very succe
ful. The whole day was a perfect joy to us all, it was
warm and sunny, and so much gratitude was Xpress
They just felt we had taken them as our own big fami
and they were greatly touched ; and yet with it all th
discipline was perfect. We had evacuated a lar
number of patients to France some time before, so th
they would reach their homeland in time.”

In May 1916 Mrs. Harley resigned the post
bf Administrator, It was undertaken by Miss Cary un
| November, and since then has been ably filled by Mi
Lialoe. Mrs. Harley, before her death in March 10;
r was again connected with the S,W. H. for a short period ;
Head of the Transport Column in Greece, after whi
she took up relief work amonyst the Serbians. “Pa

sbi tathtonee coat href ee
at ate

of Mrs. Harley's work at Monastir was the feeding |
1 Serbian children. She had just finished the daily di
| tribution, and was sitting alone by the window of th
house where she stayed, when the usual evenin
: bombardment of the town began. A shrapnel she
Li burst close to the window, and a fraoment struck her o
the head. She fell to the ground, and was found lyin:
there by her younger daughter, Edith, who was work
ing with her. She was at once conveyed to hospita
but died almost immediately. Viscount French, Mrs
liarley’s brother, received the following tclegram fro:
the Crown Prince of Serbia: ‘Deeply grieved by
heroic death of Mrs. Harley, whose Christian charity
as becomes the worthy sister of a great soldier, wa
equal to the completest self-sacrifice. 1 address to yu
my sincerest condolence and the expression of mj
warmicst sympathy.’ ”
“SALONIKA, Judy 1917

“The Serbians' at the base here have just put up

* Letter trom Miss Baughan.

y SUCCLSS-
it Was SO
Xpresst d,
iv family,
all their

lary

*, so that

post: ol
ary until
by Miss
ch 1917,
period as
er which
erate
eding of
aily dis-
v of the
evening
1e] shell
k her on
nd lying
iS work-
hospital,
-h, Mrs.
m froin
by i

charity,

Cr, was

n 45

Sepa ada Spee ot

TROYES AND SALONIKA 341

4 memorial stone to Mrs. Harley, and the dedication
of it took place to-day. All those of us (very few
now, alas!) who were under her administration were
allowed to be present, and though it took place at
the somewhat awkward hour of 9 a.m., we managed
to get a certain amount of our work done early, and
fnished it when we came back. Had it been later,
the standing in the heat, especially for the men with
hats otf, would have been impossible. Tt was one
of our hottest days, sultry and thundering. The last
time I had been to the Allied Cemetery was on the
occasion of Mrs. Harley’s funeral in March, when we
could hardly stand up against the bitter wind, Many
of the same spectators were there again to-day, but of
course not the extraordinary gathering there was five
months ago, this being more a_ purely Serbian affair,
and managed by them,

“Another Scottish Woman was laid to rest to-day
near Mrs. Harley. She was from the Ostrovo Unit, but
the funeral was from here.

“Each first Saturday, May, June, and July, we have
had a Tommies’ Tea: Party for the British Tommies—
transport drivers, military police, signallers, and such-
like, who are not attached to anything special, and do
not get often to Salonika to enjoy an afternoon there.
These men are all very good and helpful to us in their
several ways, and they do so enjoy these informal tea-
parties. We all subscribe and pay the cost, which isn't
much, as everything is made in our own kitchen, and it
is only tea and sandwiches, and perhaps vingerbread
cake, after all, They come at 2.30 and are supposed
to go at 5.30, but they are very loath to leave. Sports
of a kind they get up among themselves, small feats of
skill, the -ver popular tug-of-war (one of the ships is
always included); then perhaps, at the end, some concert

342, SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

party will give a little programme, the men sitting <
round on the ground, smoking and peaceful, and all ;
happy in such a simple way. When they go, many te
us it is the happiest afternoon they have spent since the
arrived here—eighteen months ago. It seems patheti
poor boys ; but it does lessen their home-sickness just 1
come and talk with their own countrywomen, who ofte
find out a link in common with a place or a person, an
who are invariably shown the photographs of wife an
child, and hear all the poor fellow’s anxieties about then
Sometimes, too, old pals meet each other who haven't m
for months or even longer. There is great competition t
to be asked to this monthly festivity, modest as it is, an
one is asked, ‘ Are vou the Sisters who give the Tommie
tea-parties ? Please let me come next time,’ bysome 1:
port driver who has helped one over a dusty journey.

“We are still keeping comparatively cool, a vre:
blessing, as we hope to give another one or two of thes
parties before the rainy season starts. It is nice to kee
in touch with our own men like this, and the patient
take a great interest in ‘/es Tommies,’ and even mor
especially in the sailors. Sometimes the latter, wh
have little concert parties of their own on board shi,
come in the afternoons and chat to the patients, who lov
watching them. Generally every instrument imaginabl
is in evidence, and the music, a sort of medley of nationé
airs and revue songs, is truly typical.

“We have been for a long time now without rai
and the vround js very hot and parched. The reading
last week were from 100°°9 to 103°9 continuously. W
are all more or less the colour of coffee berries avair
Happily it ought not to be long before the weathe
‘breaks,’ and after that it will not be so hot again, ©
course it is child’s play this year compared to last, bot
as revards heat and fatigue.

itting all
id all So
nany tell
ince they
pathetic,
3S just to
ho often
son, and
wife and
ut them.
ren't met
tition to
it is, and
‘ommies’
ne NS.
rney.

a great
of these
to keep
patients
en more
ter, who
irc) ship,
who love
aginable
national

yut rain,
readings
ly. We
S aan.
weather
ain. Of
ast, both

sire bowed ath US ARE Setny spa ee re TRRERS i
fe sen TO ng rR! ATI ESE Hy seotestns:
aa SAS At HPN STP ALAR ARB MMH SESE Es
— CASEY Eoesbte Steer: ieabsabietas st” aaa
stages aRRRRIREE Tove were 27

TROYES AND SALONIKA 343

“Our last contingent from home has brought E. D.,
looking very brown and fit, after a good journey out.
It is very nice seeing some one from ‘home’ and hearing
all the news. At present she is in the usual state of
‘drip’ and thirst, which newcomers go through, and as
she is opposite to my place I can occasionally aid her
‘n the latter need! There is a great future for ‘ fizzy
drinks’ in Macedonia! Fortunately we are not so
short of water as last year; we get a little ice now and
The water is, of course, all boiled and cooled off

again.
hatties,’ as is common in all Eastern

in red earthenware ‘Cc

countries. It tastes earthy and queer, but is quite

safe.”

In August 1917 the great fire in Salonika occurred.
We get a short description of it from Dr. Mcllroy, and
also an account of a visit paid to the Hospital by men
“keen on women’s work.”

“T wrote fairly fully in my letter of oth August.
Since then much of the Hospital interest has been put
out of our minds by the fire. You will have seen an
account of it in the papers. For several hours at night
we were very much afraid our camp would go with the
town, but fortunately the wind changed and we were
saved. Some dangerous sparks fell on our tents, but we
had the Staff arranged in groups for all emergencies, and
all had sacks, soaked in sea water. Needless to say,
the water in the camp was cut off, so we would have
been quite helpless. It has been a terrible disaster—
every shop burned, Banks, and all important warehouses.
Nothing could stop the fire until the wind drove it out to
sea. We put up some of our new marquees next day and
took in nearly roo refugees whom we picked up off the
streets, principally children. It was pitiful to see these
poor things. Now there are refugee camps arranged by

344 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

the armies, and every one goes there. Some of our S
help with one near at hand, and have done splen
work. We have lent several of our new tents for
emergency, and we are so thankful we could do so,
the British Military Authorities have been most grate
for the help, and I, of course, felt we must do sor
thing. The British are just adored by the Greeks n
for their help at the fire. The soldiers behaved sim
magnificently, and risked their lives everywhe
‘Brass hats’ and ‘red tabs’ were seen covered w
grime saving people from the flames. ... We had
visit lately from General Lawson and General Atchel
who had been out here on the Man Power Commissic
They gave us a most minute inspection, every hole a
corner of the camp. General Lawson said in his offic
report this Hospital was an example of what wom
could do, and he recommended it to the notice of t
War Office. They came again to see us, and they ask
me to tea one afternoon. General Lawson said in |
note he wished to tell me again how much he admire
our work, so I think you will have a very satisfacto:
account of the work of the Unit sent up to Headquarter
It is a comfort to feel that this report is sent by men wh
have visited the armies in France and Malta, and kno
the difficulties, They are most keen on women’s wor!
and are going to recommend women orderlics in th
hospitals on the same footing as ours.”

{LS

f our Staff
> splendid
ts for the
do so, as
St grateful
do some.
‘eeks now
ed simply
erywhere,
ered with
Ve had a
Atcheley,
nmission,
hole and
is official
it_ women
ce of the
ley asked
id in his
admired
tisfactory
quarters,
men who
nd know
n’s work,
s in the

CHAPTER II

THE NEW SITE: THE CALCUTTA
ORTHOPEDIC CENTRE

HE site for the camp that had been given to Dr.
MclIlroy in January 1916 had never been considered
perfectly satisfactory. “In the autumn of 1917 it was
decided to move the Hospital to a larger and better posi-
tion, and to establish a department for orthopzdic work.
During the spring of 1918 patients were not admitted,
as the ground was being prepared and the Staff engaged
in construction work. A number of commodious huts
were given by the French Medical General for the new
camp, and on his suggestion the number of beds was in-
creased to 500, A large hut was transformed into septic
and asceptic operating rooms, an X-ray room, and dental
department. Another was utilised for a massage and
mecano-therapy department, and a pharmacy and
bacteriological laboratory were erected. Others were
arranged for storerooms and bathrooms. The patients
were accommodated in huts for the most part, but tents
were also required for the men attending the orthopzdic
department. The Staff were accommodated in Indian
tents. A number of Serbian orderlies were permitted to
work in the yards and on the camp ground. Clothing
was disinfected by the sulphur method, which proved
most satisfactory.
“A large garage was erected for the storage of the
cars and motor ambulances.

“A smali farmyard was established with fowls and
345

346 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

a few pigs. This proved a considerable saving in
expenditure for food, and was a means for the disp
of the remains of food-stuffs useless to the patie
Mules and donkeys were also kept for cartage.”

Some idea of the beauty of this camp is gained fr
the picture here given. It was one and a quarter m
in length, and a quarter of a mile in breadth.

When Dr. Mcllroy was at home on leave in 1¢
she visited the Orthopedic Centres in the Uni
Kingdom, and took a perfect equipment for the new
partment out with her on her return. It was known
the ‘Calcutta Orthopedic Centre,” being equipped a
supported by the generous subscriptions from that city,

Work was begun in the new camp early in Janua
1918, though the inauguration did not take place un
23rd August.

“SALONIKA, 19¢h April 1918.

“We are in full swing with patients again, and the
arrive down from the front every night. We are begi
ning to get anxious about our 200 beds coming out, :
we may need them. Our huts will soon be all full, an
we haven't equipment for the tents,

‘We have our carpenters’ shop with five men in j
and we are making all the tables, cupboards, chairs, etc
for the Hospital. We have two good shoemakers an

atinsmith, so it is a nucleus. I want some wome!
orderlies to direct the wood-carving, needlework, etc.
but that will develop later. We are putting up «
laundry, and I think it will be a great benefit. We
are making bricks out of clay, and drying them in
the sun. I am hoping to build a doctors’ mess and
an operating theatre. My present theatre js very nice,
but is full of angles and seams in the wood. It would
make a splendid dental department. I would build a
* See Medical Appendix, page 392.

ALS

‘ing in the
€ disposal
2 patients,

ined from
irter miles

> In 1917
e United
e new de.
Known as
pped and
lat city.!

| January
lace until

vil 1918.

and they
e begin-
g Out, as

full, and

en in it,
irs, etc.,
ers and

women
rk, etc.,
gy up a
it. We
hem in
ess and
ry nice,
t would

build a

CALCUTTA ORTHOPEDIC CENTRE = 347

rounded place with whitewashed walls which could be
hosed down, but that may get completed before next
winter.”

“SALONIKA, 64h June 1918.

“We really must let you have a view of the whole
Hospital? taken from a distance. I always feel that the
Committee have no idea of what an impressive site we
occupy at present. We had more patients than beds
yesterday, which I suppose is a compliment to
our Hospital, as most of the others are only half
full.

“We are having the medical meeting here to-day,
and the Chairman thinks we shall probably have 200
present, as all the doctors are curious to see the Hospital
and our new apparatus. Dr. McIlroy is reading a paper.

“ The Hospital is beginning to look more shipshape,
and once we can get the workshops and other buildings
finished, we can start on extras.

“The patients are becoming interested in making
stone designs near the wards, and there is great
competition amongst the men—thistles and S: vbian
eagles being the most popular. They are also in-
terested in the orthopedic apparatus, and we feel we
can start many small industries later on.

“Our farmyard is progressing also, and I hope the
chickens will do yeoman service in supplying eggs and
fowls for the sick Staff and patients. We have now
geese and pigs, and have been lent two mules, two
donkeys, and a pony, by the authorities, and are thus
enabled to do a certain amount of carting sand gravel
and rubbish about the camp, which is a great help. . . .”

“1oth June.

“We have been busy getting up rush mats over the

1 Miss; Laloe’s report.

of
+
E

<a. ee RNRS Mba NRmR Heat: acs Sei jabir hae kite bite tes

os ts

348 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

hut windows to shade the patients from the sun.
could not get wood for awnings, so this method was
most practical and cheapest.

‘We were asked to have a meeting here of
British Army Medical Society. It meets in
hospitals once a fortnight. We, of course, be
French, have it here as a privilege and honour to
There was a perfect downpour of rain on Wednesday, |
in spite of that, we had over seventy members present, ¢
those mainly the senior men. It was unusually int
national, as we had a number of French and Serb;
medical officers. Sir Maurice Holt, D.M.S., was int
chair, and on his right side was M. Fournial, (/
Inspecteur du Service de Santé Serbe. They all cai
to take part in a discussion on the ‘ Treatment and k
education of the Disabled Soldier,’ which | opened.
seemed a subject of great practical value. You will |
glad to hear that, as a result, the matter has been tal
up here, and it is quite possible something tangible w
come out of it.”!

“1st July 1918.

“We have been very much interested in testing th
capabilities of our patients so as to fit them into Variou
Occupations. Some of the men are doing embroidery
and if they can make a sufficient number of big
embroidered like the Macedonian ones, we could sen:
them home to the Committee for sale purposes, Wi
have also started them copying some of the Eevptiar
hangings, etc., and I think all these things will sell yer
well out here.”

“5th July rors.

“The chief event of importance with us this weck
was the giving of the Serbian decorations to the Unit.
It is a good list, comprising twenty-two names, which |

* From Dr, Mcllroy’s letters

ALS

sun. We
Id was the

re of the
5 ins the
"Se, being
IUr to oj
‘sday, but,
esent, and
lly inter
| Serbian
ras in the
lial, Chef
all came
-and Re.
ened. It
ue will be
en taken

rible will

‘ly 1918.

sting’ the
Various
roidery,
yf bass
Ud send
ioe We
vvptian
cll very

y rore.

s week
e Unit.
which |

CALCUTTA ORTHOPEDIC CENTRE 349

enclose. The medals are given to those who had been
in Serbia during the autumn of 1915, or with a Serbian
Unit elsewhere. I amso glad McAllan has got this recog-
nition. He very much deserves it.' I believe you have
not now to apply for permission to wear these medals,
as that has been given to the Red Cross. -Captain
Yovotitch and Captain Stefanovitch came up and pre-
sented the medals in front of all the patients. It made
a very pretty little scene. We shall send the medals for
those who have left the Unit to the Office.

“We are still busy, and could have more patients
given us if we had the extra beds. The consulting
surgeon called yesterday with instructions to prepare
too beds for the reception of surgical cases only, as we
were going to have them sent to us. [I am seriously
thinking of putting some of the orthopedic cases on
mattresses on the floor, as they need so little nursing,
and the surgical cases must be put in the huts. Some
of our equipment arrived, but not the bedsteads.
Curiously enough, the piano isn’t in the least damaged.
It isa splendid one. Dr. Emslie is trying to start the
orchestra herself.

“Our orthopedic department is becoming very
popular, and I fear we shall not be able to cope with all
the work with our present Staff of masseuses. During
the heat they start work at 6 a.m. We have the Serbian
Minister of War as an out-patient. He seems to enjoy
the treatment, and comes at 7 a.m. He would do so
much better if he had baths. Surely we shall have
them soon.

“Dr. Benson sends us down patients from Drago-
mantsi for treatment. We had a visit last weck from a
French delegate, who has come out to inquire about

' Mr. McAllan was formerly with Dr. Hutchison at Valjevo. He has
been a loyal supporter of the S.W.H. from its earliest days.

SERENE |i epee incom

BAe Mi teeiaeesats sisike settle lh alata

2 Ws tant crea

350 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

transport, etc., here. He jis “ery much interested
orthopedic work, and I think it is quite possible ¢
the French will make some provision for orthop.:
treatment for the Greeks. | am very well satisfied
far; my only regret is that I cannot undertake all |
patients offered to us for treatment.

“The heat is very trying at present. I hear
had the hottest day on the 16th, which the B.E.
have endured since it first came out. Up in ¢|
camp we get a breeze from the sea, so we do ;
feel it so much as formerly, but it is fairly exhausting
times.”

“25th July i918.

* The chief event ot importance during the last we
Was a visit from the King of Greece to the Hospit:
One of his staff arrived to see over the camp, and w,
very much taken with our orthopaedic department, |.
asked if we would show it to the King, if he came up, an
two days later we received a telephone messave th:
the King was coming up on Saturday, 20th July, as h
specially wished to see the mecano-therapy departmen
and that his visit was informal and would take twent
minutes. He arrived at 6 o'clock with two of his staf
and we took him round the whole Hospital. The Sister
were in their wards and curtsied as he passed. H
Was very much interested in the massage depart
ment, and looked at a great many of the patients under
going treatment. I had to demonstrate our method
for treating deformities of limbs, our splints and appli
ances for boots, and all the apparatus in the davague. |
told him we hoped to have an exhibition of patients
work in Salonika in the autumn, and he was much
pleased about it, and glad to hear that all the Allied
hospitals would be represented. He asked many
questions about the Operating rooms, dental and X-ray

\LS

erested in
sible that
rthop.dic
itisfied SO
ce ail the

hear we
e BEF,
» in this
e do not
usting ai

uly 1918.
last week
Hospital.
and was
nt. Ile
e up, and
ave that
ly, as he
artment,
2 twenty
his. staff,
e Sisters
ed. He
depart-
> under-
methods
id appli-
que.
datients’
S much
: Allied
many

1 X-ray

ones Seer eNpe RE gweRERE Mere ipy coreg pos

7p sea ROR OURRO a opsgect eer RR AIRGD ERC PEPIN ORDER A DIONE ERE Uys geet

POE MLr:} yi

CALCUTYA ORTHOPAEDIC CENTRE = 35:

departments. We took him over to our mess-tents and
gave him tea and cigarettes, and he sat a long time.
He stayed over an hour in the Hospital, ant went away
evidently very much pleased with his visit. We heard
afterwards from a Greek officer that he liked the
Hospital very much, and was pleased with our reception
of him. He is young—only a boy—tall and_nice-
looking, wears a monocle, and has a pleasant smile.
He signed his name in our visitors’ book. I hope to
be able to send you some photographs of his visit—
snapshots taken by the Staff.

“We have had a very severe thunderstorm, which
came on quite suddenly. ! have never seen such a
tornado of dust, and we were quite helpless until it was
Two of our new marquees were torn and the
Fortunately they only had stores
we were waiting for the

over,
ridge poles broken.
in them for the moment, a
new beds.

“When the King of Greece was up here he took a
great fancy to a fox-terr.er puppy which had been sent
to one of the Sisters by the Greek liaison officer. The
King asked her for it before he left, and it was given
to him. He took it back to Athens with a large bow
of the S.W.H. tartan round its neck. I thought you
would be amused; the King kept the ribbon on the
puppy, and the bow was nearly as large as the little
We still have our French dog ‘ Mickie’
and a Macedonian mongrel ‘James.’ They guard the
camp and hunt for the ra's and other beasts. * Mickie’
is getting old, but he has been a faithful member of the
Staff since the Troyes days, and seems to think he runs
us all. He disliked the new camp at first, and wandered
off every day to a French cook he loved in the next
hospital, but now he has settled down and seems very
contented. Both dogs spend part of the might in my

thing’s head.

_— 7

Fs liielidiaiatee ania liaise tee meaieesienetniastitemrnnastll :

“he

352, SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

tent when they aren't chasing after some unha
creature in the ground.”
“5th September ion}
“T find I have omitted to send last week's reports
enclose both together. Our inaugural ‘At Home’
3rd August went off splendidly, and we had a y
important and international gathering at it. 1 think
was really a great success, as | have had so many lett
since, saying it was the nicest thing ever given out he
and so splendidly arranged. And yet it was very simy
We had a very large number of French officials, \
were all most friendly — Serbian, Greek, and Italian: a
of our own people we had from the Commander-in-Ch
downwards. So many of the Generals said that th
would like to come and see our orthopedic departme:
The Staff were splendid in looking after every one. T
programme was arranced so that every minute w
taken up, and the guests all left in) good tim
I think our entertainment has done a very great dc
in helping on a friendly feeling among the differe
nationalities in Salonika.

‘Colonel Fitzpatrick came up last week to say woo
bye, as he was going on leave. He said he wou
probably see some of you, so perhaps if you want ar
information he will be available.”

“27th September 1018.

‘You will probably be wondering what is happenin
out here, and I do hope the papers are giving our armie
their due praise for their magnificent advance. Th
piece the British got over is one of the biggest thing
we have done in this War. Perhaps now the hom
people will realise the difficulties out here, and that w
have waited our chance all along. Every one has bee
so excited over it all. The Elsie Inclis Unit ha:
moved farther up, also both Transport Columns

ALS

unhappy

mber 1918,

reports, so
ome’ on
id a very
I think it
ny letters
out here,
ry simple.
als, who
lian; and
r-in-Chiei
that they
Jartment,
ne. The
Mute Was
rd time.
reat deal
different

ay vood-
fe would
vant any

er 1918.

ppening
r armies
e. The
t things
e home
that we
las been
nit has
olumins.

CALCUTTA ORTHOPEDIC CENTRE 353

Ostrovo will probably go when Dr. Emslie takes it
over. It is so splendid for the Serbs to be in their own
country again. I wish I could give you an account of
it all, but of course I must not. I should think we will
be among the last left behind here, but I am so anxious
to help on this camp and to do the work we are doing
quietly until we are absolutely compelled to go. I
either want to be just at the front or at the base, as,
on lines of communication, one may get very little good
work, and we are quite satisfied with our usefulness here.
Of course the armies here will have to carry on for
some time until affairs are straightened out. One is
only too thankful not to hear the guns again, or to see
the wounded come down. We have been hearing of
some of the sad side of it up at the front. One officer
told me that he went over a pass where the retreating
enemy had been caught and shelled, and ii was nothing
but a mass of dead. Ambulances, cars, bullock-wagons,
guns, men, and mules, all in one huge mass, some hang-
ing over precipices. One little foal was alive and
standing by its dead mother; a little dog was also
whining iound a dead pony it had evidently lived
with. Personally I always feel worse about those poor
beasts, dragged unknowing into the war and unable
to get away. Human beings understand to a certain
extent the reason of it all.”
“15th October 1918.

“We had a dreadful cyclone which came on quite
suddenly about 5.30 on the 12th October, morning, and
did a great deal of damage in the camp. It only lasted
about five minutes. It lifted two huts up and moved
them several feet. Both have to be taken down. One
had thirty-eight beds and patients in it, and the wooden
floor was smashed, Several of the tents were blown
down and torn, and all our electric wires were lying on

;
z

‘i

: ee eersifnne
{2 Ala 2 pea eth iS ta elie, de ar at, cabanas eel

Saas, eae eee

354 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

the ground. The rain was just drenching. The pat
were so brave and cheerful, and we got them pa
and dried in any corner we had. It will take us w
repairing the damage. Only one patient was hurt
seriously).

“The brick walls of some of the workshops fel
It was just like a bombarded hospita! with bits of
everywhere. The garage was lifted up and blown a
50 yards. We have been through most things in
Unit, but this was our first cyclone. We think we \
too pleased with our Hospital, and it is rather a judgn
We will get it all put right in time, as every one
been working very hard at it.

‘One canvas hospital over the hill has not been.
to find all its tents since. In places only beds were
uncovered. [t came and went so suddenly, just like
earthquake. Fortunately it has been beautifully
since, so we have vot everything dried. [| had just as
Miss S—-— to make a report on the tents to send ina
days before, so now she has added to it. It seems ex
ordinary with us that the huts should have come off
as badly as the tents. The Staff have no roof at al
their mess hut, and it was such a nice room before.
are fitting up an old marquee in the meantime for th
The E.P.1.P. tents stood absmutely splendidly.”

“22nd October 1915
“We are getting on very well with repairing

camp. and hope to have it like itself avain shortly.
have nada vreat many visitors from the other Units lat
one night last week we had sixteen. I suppose tl
will all get settled eventually up country. Some of
Serbian doctors here are most anxious to have help in
training of girls in Serbia. They say it will bea gr
problem, as the girls must work, and there is no place

ALs

‘he patients
em packed
e us weeks
s hurt (not

ops fell in,
bits of roof
lown about
nes in this
ik we were
judgment.
y one has

t been able
Is were lefi
ust like an
tifully fine
just asked
nd in afew
ems extra-
me off just
f at all on
fore. We
> for them.
y."

tober 11s.
airiny the
rtly. We
nits lately;
pose they
mme. of the
help in the
be a great

» place for

St eee

CALCUTTA ORTHOPADIC CENTRE 355

training them as nurses, typists, etc. I said I would tell
you, but I thought you would include all that in your
Elsie Inglis Memorial Scheme. They must be taught
to run their own country. That is the only lasting
method, I believe. I understand that the conditions
they are finding on their return home are very sad. It
was what was to be expected in a country invaded
by Germany. [ would like very much to get people
at home interested in the young girls, as it is all
such a tragedy, and am sure much could be done to
help. The prisoners are coming back from Bulgaria
now. [think their treatment has left much to be desired,
but one cannot say much at present. We are just getting
the home newspapers now on the Bulgarian defeat.
They do not seem to realise what a wonderful advance
our people made here—it has been one of the biggest
things of the war, You would realise it, if you saw the
chain of mountains in front of our lines and over which
the armies had to climb. We had a splendid Highland
pipe band at our entertainment in August, lent me by
a Divisional General at the front,—almost, one might
say, in times of peace,

and among them was a boy (a
private) of about nineteen, a most beautiful dancer. He
stayed in the camp for several days before the band
came down for our reel rehearsals. After the ‘push’ he
arrived one day to say good-bye; he was incapacitated
and going home. He informed us he got wounded
scaling a hill ‘wi’ a pairty o' Greeks behind me. He
was such a youngster, but had done more than his share
in the advance.

“We had a very charming visit yesterday from the
Bishop of London, who is out here with a messaye
from the King to our troops. IT met the Commander-in-
Chief on Sunday morning, and he said the Bishop was
Most anxious to see us. So he came up yesterday with

356 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

the principal chaplain, General Saffraig, and two «
chaplains. He went round the wards ind opera
rooms. fle was most interested in the mecano-the
department and the crowds of patients under treatn
He had tea with us and told us it was one of the pleasa:
visits he had had out here. He said the Commande
Chief had spoken so highly of us to him, and he
read so much about the Scottish Women. Every
has been delighted with him out here. He told m
had written a long letter to the Zimes, telling Br
what this army has had to do in this part. He said pe
at home were under the impression we went to pict
and cinemas all the time, but he had found scarcely
amusements in Salonika, and many men up the
who hadn't been down for two years. I am so glac
will speak for our men and of all the hardships 1
have had to endure out here.

‘We have got orders to send out our Senegalese
they are to be repatriated now. The Staff are very
over it, as the Senegalese are great favourites ; they
just like children. They have been such good patie
in the massage department especially. [think t
will always have a great respect for white women in
future, at least those men who have come under

care.

The Girton and Newnham Unit was privileged
give to the French Army over four years of unint
rupted service. In acknowledgment of this servi
so gladly rendered, Dr. Louise McIlroy and seve
members of the Staff have been decorated with |
Croix de Guerre and other medals.

The honour of the S.W.H. has been upheld loyal
and with splendid efficiency, by Dr. M‘Ilroy and t
women working with her.

‘ALS

1 two other
Operating-
ano-therapy
- treatment.
pleasantes:
mander-in-
nd he had
Every one
told me he
ing Britain
said people
to pictures
carcely any
p the line
so glad he
ships they

egalese, as
€ very sad
}; they are
d patients,
hink they
men in the
under our

vileged to
of uninter-
S service,
id several!
with the

Id loyally,
’ and the

ii betel ih pcenle gd RGN

Serre 4a ll etaaeancat
Gilets EMRE Sonat tte Linn sebsa Jabiel cattle “coro!

CALCUTTA ORTHOPEDIC CENTRE 357

The spirit animating the Unit may be gathered from
the following letter :

‘Dear Mrs. RusseLt,—I was very happy indeed in
Salonika, and loved my work in the wards. We certainly
had to work very hard, and rough it many a time, and
in the hot weather it was most trying ; but it was worth
it all when we look back, knowing the splendid work
that was done out there, and the patients all seemed
most grateful for what was done for them.

“T cannot tell you how much I love and admire Dr.
Mcllroy. You always felt you got justice from her.
[ feel many a time, if it had not been for her care

and at 7ntion when I was ill, I should not have
recovered, . . . I feel I shall never forget her.”

LETTER FROM GENERAL Fortescue
“1st May 1919.

“ DEAR Mapam,— Having heard that you are writing
a History of the whole Scottish Women's Hospital
Organization, | hope you will permit me, the British
Representative of the Serbian Joint Supply Commission,
to express to you my unbounded admiration for all the
good work which the Organization has done and con-
tinues to do for the Serbs. I have been to all three
Units, at Salonika, Vranja, and Sarajevo, and so know
something of what they have done ; and my hope is that
Dr. MclIlroy’s splendid scheme for combining a school
for training Serbian girls as nurses with a Hospital and
colony for mutilated Serbian soldiers, their orthopadic
treatment and training in trades, will continue far into
the future the great work that has already been achieved
by the Organization and prove an immense boon to the
country.

358 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

‘Anyhow, I am quite sure that it will not be
fault if it does not.—Believe me, yours very truly,
‘‘ FORTESCUE, Brigadier-General
British Representative,
Serbian Joint Supply Commiss

The Girton and Newnham Unit at Salonika
closed early in tory. It will restart life later in Bele
as The Elsie Inglis Memorial Hospital.

Each of the Units of the S.W.H. has b
characteristics of its own. They come before us
different pictures. The outstanding features of
one are different, and the work accomplished in «
though fundamentally the same, has branched out
a variety of channels.

But though on the surface so unlike one ano!
they all share in one common characteristic. Here
there a woman working in the Units has forgotten
high calling and has failed, but of the vast majority
true, as has been said, “The Scottish Women n
cracked, and every woman pulled her weight.”
characteristic common to them all. of streneth, reliabi
aad efficiency, has been impressed on cach Unit lar
by its C.M.O. These last tragic years disclose in
ranks of the S.W.H., and Many another organization
unfailing supply of women with force of character. la
ness of mind, and powers of leadership, combined |
professional skill in various directions. who have
votedly given their services to humanity in nobk
unselfish labour. This must be a source of profound
to all who love their country,

ALS

not be her
ruly,
zeneral,
tive,
mmission,”

lonika was
n Belvrade,

has borne
ore us like
es of eac!
2d in’ each,
ed out into

ne another

Here and
rvotten her
ajority it is
men never

rht.” This
-reliability,
nit largely FR

tose in the

lization, an

icter, larce-

bined with
!

y have de
1] ee

noble a

‘ofound JON

Roll of Honour

Seek caet near tLe reaihics fers

bate: Sea saeh ond

SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS
FOR FOREIGN SERVICE

ROLL OF HONOUR

“THERE IS NO SEA
NOR TIME NOR Spack NoR Division
IN
Gop’s pear Home
THERE 1S ONLY Gop AND F's STRONG
LovE AND PEACE
AND
A GREAT REMEMBERING.”

“Let us remember before God these women
Who gave their lives in the service of others.”

1. Miss NEIL Fraser (Orderly), - Kraguievatz.
Went out December 1914; died 8th March rg1s,

2. Miss Louisa Jorpan (Nurse). - Kraguievatz.
Went out D. cember tg14; died March gts.

3. Miss A. A. MinsHuLi (Nurse) . . Kraguievatz.
Went out February tg91§; died arst March 1915.

4. Miss B. G. SUTHERLAND (Nurse) Valjevo.
Went out April igrs ; died 26th September 1915.

5. Mrs. C. M. Toucuity (Nurse) . . Mitrovitza.
Went out December 1914; died 14th November 1915

(motor accident),

6. Miss M. Gray (Nurse). : . Royaumont.
Went out December 1914; died 23rd January 1916,

7, Miss M. Burt (Nurse) ; » Girton & Newnham 1
Went out October 1915; died 7th April 1916,

8. Miss A. Guy (Nurse) : . Girton & Newnham!

Went out July 1916; died 2oth August 1916.

j60

TALS

916.

:wnham Unit.

~wnham Unit

ROLL OF HONOUR 361

9. Miss Otive SMITH (Masseuse) . . America Unit.
Went out August 1916 ; died 6th October 1916.
10. Miss F. Caton (Nurse). : . America Unit.

Went out September aed :
Again in August 1916 ied opt July T9ey:

11. DR. ELSIE INGLIS Founder of the Scottish
Died 26th November 1917. Women’s Hospitals.
12, Miss M. McDowe t (Chauffeur) . London Unit.
Went out May 1918; died 4th July 1918.
13. Miss J. M. FANNIN (Nurse). . Drowned on her way to
Died roth October 1918. Royaumont. Was on

s.s. Leinster, which was
torpedoed in the Irish
Channel roth October.

14. Mrs. E. UNpERWwoop (Orderly) . . Sallanches.
Went out 3oth August 1918; died arst October 1918.
15. Miss Acngs Eart (Sister) . : . America Unit.

Went out December 1916 ; died 19th March 191g.

In St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, on Thursday, 29th
November 1917, a service was held to commemorate
Dr. Elsie Inglis. Atthe close the “ Hallelujah Chorus ”
was »layed, and after the “ Last Post” the buglers of
the Royal Scots rang out the great ‘ Reveille.” Let us
not count ita service in memory of Elsie Inglis alone,
but also of all these women in the Scottish Women’s
Hospitals who like her laid down their lives.

stab irk! in aaah dea ccesian ilaieeiaiadbet

hea 28 nag Ses es

ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

A* the story of the S.W.H. unfolds itself, the rez
d has come to realise what the term “S.W,
stands for. And the question arises, How was
organization carried on, who financed it, and \
directed the ever-increasing stream of expendit
involved in it ?

The central directing power was “the Scott
Women’s Hospital Committee” sitting in Edinbur
Miss S. E. S. Mair of Edinburgh and Mrs. James
Hunter of Glasgow were respectively President ;
Chairman, and Mrs. Laurie of Greenock was H
Treasurer of the Society from its beginning. — At
Dr. Inglis’ departure to Serbia in May tg915, \
J. H. Kemp was Hon. Secretary,

Dr. Beatrice Russell, Mrs. Wallace Williams
Mrs. Walker, and Mrs. Salvesen, the Hon, Secretary a
Conveners respectively of the Personnel, the Unifor
the Equipment, and the Cars Committees, have work
with untiring zeal. The fruit of their labours is seen
the high standard of the workers in the Units; in 1
serviceableness of © that quiet grey uniform of wh
we are all so proud”: in. the magnilicent equipme
accompanying each Unit; and in the stream of ¢;
which never failed, not even “on the road to Dunje.”

To help the Headquarters Comunittee, influent
committees were early formed, in London Glasgo
Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Wales, a
the enthusiasm they brought to the work spre

NCE

the reader
"SW."

was this
and who
<penditure

Scottish
‘dinburgh,
James T.
ident and
vas Hon.
gy. After
J15, Miss
‘illiamson,
retary and
Uniforms
ie worked
Is seen in
si in the
of which
uipment
1 Of cars
une.”
niluential
Glasgow

ales, and

. Spread

ee acer Ea py @

eather at

ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE 363

throughout the country and gained the support of all
classes. Britons abroad soon heard of the S.W.H.,
and committees sprang up in many distant countries,
and at last the Cause was receiving support from men
and women of every shade of political opinion living in
far-distant corners of the Empire.

The London Committee, formed early in gts,
with Miss Edith Palliser as Chairman, the Viscountess
Cowdray as Hon, Treasurer, and Mrs. Flinders-Petrie
as Hon, Secretary, began their long record of magni-
ficent work by the presentation of au X-ray car to
Royaumont, and the upkeep of a ward in the same
Hospital. The story of the Units, supported entirely
(with the exception of salaries) by this Committee, has
been fully told in’ previous chapters. The London
Committee has raised and administered in all over
£100,000.

The Glaseow and West of Scotland Joint Committee,
under Mrs. Stephen as Chairman, and Miss Morrison
as Hon, Treasurer, have worked indefatigably from the
earliest days. Their support has meant much to the
S.W.H., and they have raised altogether well over
£48,000 towards the funds.

The Liverpool Committee has raised over £10,000,

“ww

and the Manchester and District Committee well over
45000,

The Welsh Committee was started early in 1915,
ind amongst those who signed its first appeal was
Mrs, Lloyd George. The Valjevo Unit was supported
by this Committee, in conjunction with London,

During the first three months of the War the financial
burden of the S.W-_H. was borne mainly by the members
of the NLULW.S.S. Many devices for raising money
were resorted to; we read of pet kittens being sold,
and of household god beiny turned into silver and

F
TE
|

2 en a +
11 343" death ggg ERRaRRE ects: enh abtetnke 8 heb il:

Pat

364 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

gold. One local committee raised £2000 by the s
of wastepaper !

As the scheme grew, the other usual expedients
raising money were resorted to. But the inter
attached to the finance of the S.W.H. lies not so mi
in the methods which obtained the money as in
wide area from which the funds were drawn, and
the enthusiasm shown for the cause by the individ
men and women who raised the money, and who hi
formed the strong, broad foundation upon which
structure of the S.W.H. has been built.

It was told in the opening chapter how the Organiz
of the Scottish Federation of Women’s Suffrage Socie!
were sent broadcast over Scotland to ‘set the heat
alight,” in the interests of the S.W.H. That tl
accomplished their task can be seen in the follow
account, which tells how Scots from every quarter
the globe answered to the appeal of the ‘Scot
Women.” We read of the Heather Day collection:
the Hong-Kong St. Andrew's Society amounting
over £2000. From Hankow the Committee <
members of the same Society send contributions.
a little meeting of the “ Highland Society of Sydne
at which twenty-five men were present, £1000 \
subscribed i the room. The achievement of
Caledonian Society in Calcutta merits a paragraph
itself.

In Rangoon, on St. Andrew's Day, a concert <
café chantant were held, and part of the proceeds s
to the Scottish Women.

The Blantyre Mission of the Church of Scotl
sent a collection from Nyasaland.

And so on, many pages might be filled with
mention of similar contributions. But from innumera

' Found on page 369.

.LS

y the sale

dients for
> interest
t so much
as in the
n, and in
individual
who have

which the

Irganizers
» Societies
e heather
“hat they
following
quarter of
** Scottish
lections of
unting to
ittee and
ions. At
Sydney,”
1000 was
t of the
agraph to

neert and
‘eeds sent

Scotland

with the
numerable

ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE 365

other sources also came generous support. A Flag Day
in Pietermaritzburg, a Planter in the Assam Valley,
a Ranee in strict purdah, from many isolated men
and women in China—one sending home his valuable
collection of Chinese stamps to be sold for the benefit
of the Hospitals. From New Zealand the Working
Women’s Club of Taihape and the Pioneer Club of the
same country contributed largely. Bangkok in Siam is
represented on the subscription list, and so are the Malay
Straits, and South America, and the following letter to
Dr. Inglis is from a woman in Tasmania :

“ RIVERSCOURT, WEST DEVONPORT,
TASMANIA, 10/4 July 1915.

“Dear Dr. INctts,—I hope my former letters and
drafts have been received safely. With those being
sent by this mail I have forwarded £175 from Tasmanian
men and women. I have also sent to you twenty cases
of hospital requisites, which I am sure your brave nurses
in Serbia will appreciate. . I have promised the
contributors to this fund that they will be able to name
two beds. One they wish to be called ‘Tasmania,’
the other will be named by the Hockey Teams who are
to play an Interstate Match in August, the proceeds of
which will be sent later. It will be an encouragement
to hear that the gifts have arrived and have been ap-
preciated. Each case contains a card with my name
and a request to write. There are several little presents
for the nurses enclosed in the cases, which I hope they
will appreciate. Very sincerely yours,

‘MARGARET WALPOLE.”

The interest created in the S.W.H. throughout the
United States and Canada, and in India and Australia,
is due in the first instance to the wonderful power of
appexl possessed by Miss Burke and Mrs. Abbott.

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366 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Miss Burke has made four tours in America, anc
been instrumental in raising nearly £ : 40,000.
The following letter is from the Premier of Can:

‘*PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE,
OTTAWA, CANADA, 29¢/ October 1
“Dear Miss Burke,—When you return ove
it would give me great pleasure if you would conv
those who are engaged in the work of the Sc
Women’s Hospitals my deep sense of appreciatic
the splendid devotion and courage with which
have undertaken their errand of mercy in so 1
theatres of the War. I have had occasion from tir
time to learn something of what heroic service they
rendered, and no praise could be too high for
splendid spirit in which this service has been given
has been especially valuable in that it has brough
and comfort to many who, in certain theatres, v
otherwise have received little or no care whatev
Believe me, yours faithfully,
““(Sed.) Robert Borpen.

Some further extracts from the letters of prom
men in America will convey a better impression
the mere narrative of the ground covered by Miss B
in her tours and of the success of her campaign.

Mr. Henry Van Dyke, a former American
bassador to Holland, writes: ‘‘ Now you are going |
for a little rest, though I do not believe that you wil
very much of it. ‘Take with you a hearty greeting
America to the Scottish Women’s Hospitals and t
the other societies and organizations—yes, and tc
British women outside of societies and organizations
are faithfully working to help to win this War, and |
a real, true, lasting peace to the world.”

‘ALS

ca, and has
2:
of Canada:

OFFICE,
Detober 1917

rn overseas
d convey to
he Scottish
reciation of
which they
Nn so many
rom time to
e they have
vh for the
1 given. It
brought aid
tres, would
whatever.—

ORDEN.”

f prominent
ession than
Miss Burke
mn.

erican Am-
soing home
you will get
eeting from
s and to all
and to the
zations who
r, and bring

2 eb cn oA NRG igh

IML Hints

inaicai soos

SE taba AUR altee ice ee Se

bien dbe

ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE 367

We are indebted to the Mayor of San Francisco for
the following extract :

‘May I ask you to take greetings to the women of
the Scottish Women’s Hospitals from the largest city of
Western America. Your account of their unceasing
work and their heroic devotion have brought them close
to our hearts. You have made their work our work,
and we feel that they welcome us as friends, as we bring
America’s crushing participation into the War. We
admire them as types of Britain's splendid women,

giviny the best of their lives to help their men. Once
more greetings to them and to you.”
Miss Burke rendered valuable services to the

American Red Cross, and the following letter is from
the National Security League :
“19th October 1917.
“Dear Miss Burke,—I am writing, not personally
but officially, in the name of the Executive Committee
of the National Security League to express our deep
appreciation of the wonderful service that you rendered
on Wednesday night at Carnegie Hall for the cause of
Patriotism. I only regret that you could not have
been heard by fifty thousand, instead of five thousand,
mothers and wives. We wish you to appreciate the
fact that we value your services as the most valuable
asset which can be secured for this work, and ve
thank you sincerely for your unselfish acceptance of so
many engagements in the interest of the cause which
is our common cause.
“(Sgd.)

R. M. McIzroy.”

One of the most magnificent donors to the S.W.H.
funds has been the American Red Cross War Council,
Washington, who have again and again augmented the
funds in a princely manner,

368 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

There is only space to describe one of the hunc
of meetings at which Miss Burke spoke; it was he
July 1918 in San Francisco, and was called the ‘\
of Victory Meeting.” Miss Burke's letter to the (¢
mittee of 2nd July tells of the preparations for
great meeting.

“20 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK CI’
and July 1918.

“IT am leaving for San Francisco to speak for
Red Cross at the Advertising Convention. This.
important event, as all the principal newspaper me
the country will be present, and everybody in any
connected with advertising. The speakers at
Auditorium at San Francisco, which holds 12,000 pe
will be Mr. Schwab, the great steel magnate, and at
present time the head of the shipping board of
United States, Mr. Bainbridge Colby, and my
Whilst on the Pacific Coast I shall probably speak :
twenty to thirty times.”

From a letter from one of the newspaper magn
in San Francisco, we learn how successful the me
was. It was held on the opening night of the Con
tion, and speakers from all the Allied Nations took
Miss Burke spoke as representing Great Britain.
writer concludes his letter with these words :

‘“T can say, without exaggeration, that Miss Burk
made as favourable an impression as any speaker—i
the most favourable—that has visited the Pacific C
it is marvellous to see how she inspires her audie
and it is impossible to measure the good that she is do

Mrs. Abbott’s tour in India and Australia beg:
the spring of 1916. In an article on her tour,
Abbott describes her start :

ALS

e hundreds
was held in
the ‘ Voice
» the Com-
ns for this

(ORK CITY,

sak for the
This is an
per men of
In any way
rs at the
000 people,
and at the
ard of the
nd myself.
speak some

' magnates,
he meeting
he Conven-
s took part.
itain. The

s Burke has
iker—if not
icific Coast.
- audiences,
1e is doing.”
lia began in

tour, Mrs.

‘oc th vine RRR RRR sais bse RDN octet

Bits SS cu a eG S aaa eee

ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE 369

“Tcan recall it all as vividly as if it were yesterday
--an insistent ring at the telephone bell, then, ‘Are you
there? You? My dear, I want you to go to India
next week. It is very ‘n:nortant. I can’t explain now,
but can you come to my hotel at ten to-night? .. . du
jou must go. If you leave on Tuesday you can catch
the Khwva. Good-bye.’ That was so exactly like Dr.
Elsie Inglis. I caught the A’Ziva at Marseilles.

“A night at the end of June, a night like the com-
bination of a Scotch rainstorm and a dry Turkish bath,
saw our tug pushing off from the Ahiva towards the
twinkling lights of the Apollo Bunder. Bombay and
India at last! Bombay is an altogether delightful,
ridiculous, twinkling little place, reminiscent, one would
say, in shape and colour of the pattern you see at the
end of a penny kaleidoscope. But Bombay claimed
only two days. The journey’s end and the work’s
beginning lay in Simla, the summer headquarters of the
Government of India.”

From Simla a campaign all over the vast Indian
continent was planned and was carried out the following
cold weather. In this tour Mrs. Abbott was helped

ably by Mrs Hall, whom she met at a meeting in
Lahore.

“It would be impossible to imagine a better com-
panion for such work; one whose knowledge of organ-
izing was almost unlimited, whose Press work was
brilliant, whose cheerfulness and wit never failed, and,
most rare of all, one of those who can see the humours
of success as well as failure,”

During the winter, meetings were held in Calcutta,
Madras, Burmah, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and various
other stations in the United Provinces, the Punjab, and
North-West Frontier. The subscriptions in India
amounted to £28,500, The Caledonian Society in

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370 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Calcutta took the S.W.H. to its heart. When
Abbott arrived in Calcutta, St. Andrew’s Day
approaching, ‘and when it came, the Dalhousie Inst
resounded to the skirl of the bagpipes, the platform
crowded with both Scotch and English represent
men and women. Lord Carmichael was in the «
and the whole proceedings were aglow with Si
enthusiasm.” Bunches of white heather were ca
by all who could obtain them. Mrs. Abbott aske
two lakhs cf rupees(413,000). A cheque of a £
was promised to her before she left the platform,
the amount asked for was cabled home in fu
2 St. Andrew Square a few weeks later.

On the conclusion of her tour in India, Mrs. Al
was asked by the Committee to visit Australia.
Scottish Women had had Australians in more than
of their Hospitals. Dr. Hutchison wrote, as wi
remembered, most appreciatively of those her Unit
nursed in the Hospital in Malta. Australia had
ably represented in the personnel of some of the U
she was now to hear at first hand from Mrs. Abbot
wonderful story of the S.W.H., and to be asked to
tribute to the funds. In Queensland an influ
committee was formed, with Sir Robert Philp as C
man, and Mrs. Abbott addressed many meeting
over the State. The description of the meetin
Brisbane is from an Australian paper :

“Tt was at St. Andrew's Hall one night last
that Mrs. Abbott told us about the work by the Sc
Women in the Hospitals in France and Serbia.
stage decorated with palms and flags . . . this sle
black-robed woman, in an atmosphere created by
skirl of pipes, carried us away from Brisbane, —
from Australia, its strikes and discord and disser
carried us even above the horror of war, as she tc

‘ALS

When Mrs.
; Day was
sie Institute
latform was
oresentative
1 the chair,
vith Scotch
rere carried
tt asked for
of a £1000
atform, and
in full to

Mrs. Abbott
ralia. The
re than one
as will be
sr Unit had
a had been
the Units;
Abbott the
sked to con-
. influential
p as Chair-
neetings all
meeting in

it last week
the Scuttish
rbia. Ona
this slender,
ated by the
bane, away
_ dissension,
; she told of

LSP hait eT Nhe se Sm Hee Eby SF Samer oe

i aad aL ar aba

i
q
;
j
2
;
:

ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

the work of the women of Scotland, in th
behind the lines in France, and
stricken armies in Serbia.

371
eir Hospitals
among the typhus-

As we listened to the history
of those Hospitals from the beginning, the trials aa

sufferings these valiant women underwent, and ar
still undergoing, we truly felt that in this little ae
of the world where we live in comparative peace, in this
sunny land of plenty, those oc. us who cannot be ther
as our fellow-townswomen Dr. Lilian Cooper and Mise
Bedford are, may surely help, in however small a ae
in this great and noble work. What wonder that a
response has been so fine! But it is £6000 which is
Mrs. Abbott's objective in Queensland—just enough t
se ai hep of the S.W.H. going one month,” Dee
Jueensland contri —ei
ia oe 46800—eight hundred more
The response from New South Wales was equall
magnificent. A strong committee was ones eck
Mr. C. N. Button, M.A., as organizing secretary d
the whole State soon heard of the S.W.H All ie
the country enthusiastic Support was given secrets
Pastoral Finance Association gave a huge electri 1
advertisement tree, which showed right across S Ge
harbour at night. New South Wales’ total ee at
under £13,000. New Zealand gave generous] slic
and Mrs. Abbott's tours, including a second ae a
in India, brought in altogether £62,000. sori
_ Verily the Administration and Finance Department
ol an organization can throb with life and genius! :

ree eed

ces

a 5 Uc? ah Bit aA bal Obs iE aoc 26 y ‘i; ae A ikidhianbieuiie
DRBSSLTEN es TAP ic CAPR CITA aaa AR a cordathdent ase

APPENDIX
MEDICAL REPORTS AND STATISTICS

“THE vindication of the claim of medical women to
work on an equality with their professional
brethren no doubt came somewhat as a surprise to the
public in general, for although in 1914 the original
prejudice against medical women was for the most part
a thing of the past, positions on staffs of gene
were only open to them in very few
opportunities afforded to them,
surgery, were extremely limited,
could successfully staff War Hospitals of three to six
hundred beds, dealing with all sorts of casualties and
with the various diseases affectine the armies, was a
proposition which still lacked proof. Therefore it js
hardly a matter for surprise that the War Office, ever
chary of innovation, should refuse the original offer of
the S.W.H. Committee. The fact that later in the war
the Military Authorities cid avail themselves of the
willing help of medical women (while still, however,
refusing them commissioned rank in the R.A.M.C.) was
no doubt partly owing to the excellence of the work done

by them in the Scottish Women’s Hospitals Units and
other voluntary hospitals.

ral hospitals
instances, and the
especially in veneral
That medical women

The following short account of the medical work is
compiled from reports and figures furnished by the Chief
Medical Officers of the various Units. It is to be
regretted that the records of the earlier Serbian and
the Russian Units were lost in the Retreats.

373

«
- .
litahshinattiinmetieeds: sae ee

374 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS, ROYAUMO
AND VILLERS COTTERETS

SURGICAL REPORT

A. Soldiers under treatment
Deaths
Operations .

ROYAUMONT—
1915
1916
1917
1918 :
1919" H
VILLERS COTTERETS

DAYS OF HOSPITALISATION

13¢h January 1915 fo 26th February 1919

159

534

7,204

ALS

AUMONT

53,918
575338
60,423
90,335

270
22,109

284,393

Pe eerecnescerel ret rumvenenegnneat torts ey errs terrermemtetat

ghicuiadlebeuseee

pes lloesttiet

APPENDIX 375

A special feature of the work at Royaumont and
Villers Cotterets was its extreme variety. As the
military situation changed, almost every type of case
presented itself,

During periods of activity in 1915 and 1916, the
nearness of Royaumont to the first-line evacuating station
on the Amiens-Paris line resulted in the reception of a
large number of badly infected cases, unable to travel
farther, with a relatively large incidence of gas gangrene ;
and in the spring of TOTS treatment by anti-gangrenous
serum was begun, and was continued during the Somme
offensive in 1916,

When the firing line moved away, the Hospital
became for a short time a centre for clean surgical cases
sent down for operation from the first-line hospi-
tals. In 1917 a hut hospital was established at Villers
Cotterets to work during the French offensives on the
Aisne.

In March 1918, owing to the rapid German advance,
work again became extremely heavy, both at Villers
Cotterets and at Royaumont—the latter functioning as a
clearing station and receiving its wounded chiefly from
the Mor *didier sector, while Villers Cotterets received

cas m the Noyon area.

At 2 end of May 1918 the German offensive

produced a few days of intense activity at Villers
Cotter: nd owing to the loss by the French of some
of the: rospitals near the Aisne, wounded poured
by amt to Senlis, where a clearing station for the

1oth Ar vas established. To meet the emergency,
the equipm ot saved from Villers Cotterets was set up

in all the 2 able cloister space at Royaumont, huts
were put up « “nerease the accommodation to 600 beds,
u Proc. Ro; edt ci

1917, vol. x. “Sections of Surgery,”
PP. 20-119.

376 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

and the combined Staffs were by no meaus sufficie
meet the heavy demands made.
f During June and July the preventive treatmer
if. gas gangrene by Weinberg’s triple serum was ca
g out, and the results were communicated for Miss |
by Professor Delbet to the “ Soctélé de Chirurgte"
ton 1666 wounded admitted to the Hospital in those mo
155 of the worst cases were given preventive ino
tions during or before operation. Among those, o

i 16 fatal cases not one was due to gas gangrene, whe
fay there were 8 deaths from vas gangrene in woundec
io) Pa é :
ibis treated preventively.
ih

Later results, with those also obtained by the

of Leclainché and Vallée serum, were reported ir
ii autumn.’
i) During 1918, although the patients were rece
Li fairly soon after being wounded, primary suture was
: permitted in cases which could be kept under observa
Flesh wounds were cut out, dressed openly, and sen:
the Interior for secondary suture.

The results of primary suture were good, espe
in knee-joints and lungs.*

The peculiar susceptibility of American soldie
the streptococcus was noticed.

From the beginning Royaumont was a centr
civilian surgical emergencies sent in by practiti
from the neighbouring towns and villages. At
these were a certain number of women and childre
whom about a dozen beds were reserved in some |
wards. Both at Villers Cotterets and at Koyaum¢

ie number of civilians wounded by bombs from Gi
vf were treated.
sty
ai i¢rs i 1 Bulletins de la Société de Chirurgie de Parts, le 6 aot 1918
tig 2 British Medical Journal, 19th October 1918.
the

3 Jbid., 12th April 1919, p. 458.

‘ALS

sufficient to

‘eatment of
was carried
Miss Ivens
urgte”;' of
ose months,
ve inocula-
hose, out of
ne, whereas
ounded not

by the use
rted in the

re received
ire was only
observation.
nd sent inio

J, especially
soldiers to

centre for
oractitioners
. Among
children for
some small
byaumont a
om Gothas

rotit 1918.

SRD sc Bes v=

ga tapi ie atc arts afl

rae es ot

FSH el gas

apbdoids) birt abet aaadd gen rte

APPENDIX

7 my
44
SECTION A WAI a8)
Total. | Shell. | puter “Barbee! | Grenade! Bom
|
Operations for wounds of |
head, 158.
(+) Without fracture . » + 46% o4 5 ie
(6) With fracture of skull. 57 50 :
| wa ae iri
Operations for wounds of
face, 193.
(a) Without fracture 1o5 | 93
oe r 5 93 10 I
(b) With fracture of jaw 31 29 2
(c) With wound of eyeball, 32 31 1
(¢) Enucleation of eye 25
| Operations for wounds of |
neck, 56,
(a) Without fracture BS hb eaie
| é ; . SS | 1o
(4) With fracture | I “ |
eee ak = z 1 |
Operations for wounds of | |
shoulder, 349. | |
(a) Without fracture | ae2
) Wi é se «| 253 196 (a) a > |
| (0) With fracture of scapula | 30 31 : : a ee.
Pte) With fracture of humerus | 23 22 I " |
| (a) With fracture of clavicle! 16 15 1 |
(¢) With wound of shoulder. 21 21
joint
: Sr a a ee eee
Operations for wounds of | |
| arm, 617, |
1 -
(2) Without fracture : - | 384 | 303 go | 1 8 24
(6) W ith fracture of humerus 91 80 3. 4 I 2
(c) With fracture of radius 70 4 1 1 1 |
With foc bid 5 } 1 1 |
(7) With fracture of ulna 24-56 53 3 |
(e) With frac adi : ais
; ‘© With tracture of radius | 15 15 ne
and ulna
(f) With fracture of hum-} 1 I | | |
Crus, radius, and ulna |
| |
Pee ey cote nr Petes Mm eed ee |
. |
Operations for wounds of
elbow, 46.
(2) Without fracture . 43 38 c | |
(6) With fracture of humerus 3 3 S
: ne eee AS Spee ee : J

POET armen ane etme

nes eo

|
|
|

weak

378 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

SECTION A.—WAR WOUN DS—(Continued)

Operations for wounds of
elbow-joint, 86.
(a) Without fracture .
(6) With fracture of humerus
c) With fracture of radius
(d) With fracture of ulna .
(e) With fracture of hum-
erus, radius, and ulna

Operations for wounds of |
wrist-joint, 59.
(a) Without fracture . eel
(6) With fracture of radius
(c) With fracture of ulna .
(d) With fracture of carpal |
bones |

Operations for wounds of
hand and fingers, 312.
(a) Without fracture .
(6) With fracture of meta-
carpals
(c) With fracture of phal-
anges

Operations for abdominal |
wounds, 45. |
(a) Without fracture .
(6) With fracture

Operations for wounds of ,
elvis, 217. |
(a) Without fracture .
(6) With fracture é
(c) With injury to genito- |

urinary system }
(d) With injury to rectum, |

Operations for wounds of hip- |
joint, 38.
(a) Without fracture .
(4) With fracture

Total.

9
17
16
20
24

25
11
12

| 160

34
18

Shell.

mt
de Wwo

|
!

Bullet.

go ag Grenade. | |

—$ $< —$——— ——————a—r——rorn
| | ] |

1505 I on cD
| { |
2

ALS
4)

Grenade.| Bomb.

a
1
“
es
|
+ soe | eee |
ie
4
|

|
|
| =

Operations for wounds of

thigh, 643.
(a) Without fracture .

Operations for wounds |
knee-joint, 112.
(a) Without fracture . et
(6) With fracture of patella |
(¢) With fracture of femur. |
(@) With fracture of tibia.

Operations for wounds of leg,

7
ae Without fracture . |
(4) With fracture of tibia . |
(c) With fracture of fibula . |
(d) With fracture of tibia |
and fibula

Operations for
ankle-joint, 18.

wounds

Operations for

tarsus, 47.

wounds of

Operations for wounds of foot,
102.

Operations for wounds
vertebral column, 47.
(2) Cervical region
‘) Thoracic region
(c) Lumbar region
(7) Sacral region

of |

Uperations for wounds of
thoracic wall, 107.

‘a) Without fracture .

(4) With fracture of scapula

om |e
(6) With fracture of femur. |

of |

APPENDIX

}
{
|
| Total. |
wees eee

II 2 |
61 | 48
25 2

15 EAC sf

437 | 358
76 67
38 35
26 22
18 I

102

seh Oye l)
IT rt |
28 26 |
5

104

2 2

|
| poy Shrapnel
Shell. | Bullet. Bullet

Se ee ee
{

SECTION A.—WAR WOUNDS—(Continued)

ee! |
iat
|e |

7 oN

Grenade., Bomb.

> ci

{

{
{

————————

SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

SECTION A.—WAR WOU NDS—(Continued)

M ; r | Total Shell. | Bullet. se mel Grenade. Fe
PGE ; Se wd ae Pa Peis hak |
' Operations for wounds of |
iEe) | thoracic contents, 84. |
: ! (a) Without fracture . | 42 362" 10
(6) With fracture of ribs. | 35 cc es
(c) With fracture of scapula) 7 ia
| eins eaeiee Teens
Hi: | Operations for wounds of ; 9° 78 | 9 I
Bee i back, go. |
Amputations, 378— Ligature of arteries — (continued!
(a) Thigh 69 (p) Anterior interosseous
(6) Leg . 39 (7) Posterior interosseous
(c) Foot 10 Ligature of veins, 15 —
(d) Toe. 64 (a) Internal jugular
(e) Arm 40 (6) Axillary
4 (f) Forearm .« 10 (c) Miscellaneous .
i e
3 e go fe Operations on nerves, 61—
gale - (a) Sciatic
fies Re-amputations, 87. (4) Popliteal .
Ligature of arteries, 76— (¢) Musculospiral .
+P (a) External iliac . I (d) Median
at) (6) Femoral . It (e) Radial. .
es (c) Popliteal . 7 (f) Posterior interosseous
Tig (ad) Posterior tibial II (g) Ulnar
eo (e) Peroneal . 5 Operations on tendons, 51.
tea (f) Temporal 3 Sequestrotomy and operatio
(g) Occipital . 2 bone, 185.
(h) Carotid 3. Operations on wounds and scat
(7) Subclavian 1 Operations for multiple woun
(J) Axillary 3 Incision of abscess, 93:
(hk) Posterior circumfies 1 Movements under anesthesia,
(2) Brachial . 8 Operations for muscular herni
} (m) Dorsalis scapula: 1 Changing splints, 85.
(m) Radial 7 Examinations and dressings
8 ancesthesia, 154.

(o) Ulnar

srenade, | Bom.

continued)
sseous
SSEOUs

osseous

1S, 51.

operations of

sand scars, 304
ple wounds, 65.
13

zesthesia, 99.
ilar hernia, 13.

dressings under

(7 fare p

X-RAYS AT ROYAUMONT AND VILLERS COTTERETS
By Dr. Epirn SToNney

lor cach Month each Degree represents 40 Patients screened or photographed

1915.
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct
Nov.
Dec.

1916.

lar

Feb.

To &.

“oer S|

te aa eu ation eacaebiaasitesethi
2-7 Seaman paterneret = teen atReReNp: SeEpeRT = wontpese

wit terstlinseneenpectie
7

isasenesneh Stibeeiiaaasiein diet imeniciaaditieticainiadinatene ctmmetenan unm nenned

APPENDIX

SECTION B.—OTHER THiN WAR WOUNDS

Gastroenterostomy, 7. / nputations, 20.

Operations on gall bladder, 18. or tonsils and adenoids, 30.
Colectomy, I. + or simple tumours, 66.
Colostomy, 7. For malignant tumours, 12.
Enterostomy, 1. For fractures, 47.
Appendicectomy, 105. For dislocations, 11.

For appendix abscess, 15. Operations on bone, 24.
Laparotomy for various conditions,93.__ Operations for deformity, 20.
For hernia, 451. Operations on glands, 36.
Nephrotomy, 1. Incision of abscess, 56.

For hydrocele, 65. For varicose veins, 30.

For varicocele, 35. Operations on genito-urinary or-
Supra-pubic cystotomy, 5. gans, 70.

For hemorrhoids, 129. For subphrenic abscess, 2
Operations for anal fistulix, etc., 49. Arranging splints, 1g

For internal derangement of knee- Miscellaneous, 87.

joint, 19.

The X-ray department at Royaumont, together with
the X-ray car, was started by Dr. Agnes Savill,’ with the
assistance of Miss Berry, Miss Collum, Miss Buckley,
and Miss Anderson. During 1916 some very beautiful
photographs differentiating the organisms in gas gangrene
were taken,

On the return of Dr. Agnes Savill to England,
Dr. Helen McDougall and Miss Collum took over the
department. In 1917 an installation was put up at
Villers Cotterets. In the autumn, Dr. Edith Stoney
superintended both departments with the help of several
assistants,

After the evacuation of Villers Cotterets two installa-
tions were again set up at Royaumont in addition to
a mobile apparatus for the Fracture wards. During this
time specially valuable assistance was given by the
stereoscopic work of Dr. Edith Stoney.

A graphic record is appended.

1 Archives of Radioloyy and Electrotherapy, M ay 1916.

ne SS,
seieiieetiedamem ation 2

382 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

BACTERIOLOGICAL REPORT, 1918

By MADAME MANOEL

Or 9813 analyses made in the Laboratory
Royaumont between 13th January 1918 and
January 1919, bacteriological examinations have
by far the most important. They consist, ma
majority of cases, of a direct examination by smear
surgical intervention being preceded by a bacteriolo
examination of the wound and its secretions or fo:
bodies.

On account of the tendency for a large numb
wounded to arrive together, cultures and exact deter
tion and identification of the germs have only been |
in a limited number.

Nevertheless the examinations, such as they
were said by the surgeons to be extremely useful.

In the majority of wounds the flora is complex d
the first two or three days. The usual appear
included the following: namely, by the side of
anaerobic bacilli, disappearing in the first 24 to 48 I
were B. Pyocyaneus, Coliform bacilli, enterococci
the streptococcus, which is rarely absent. Unhe
this organism predominates in by far the greater mt
of wounds.

The streptococcus is known always as a dang
germ ; during the War it has been the most mortal
by its frequency and by its tenacious resisting |
(whatever may be the treatment adopted). Thi
character is probably due to the infinite numt

strains (both aerobic and anaerobic), and by its ten
to produce septicemia. It is my conviction thi
streptococcus has been the greatest enemy ©

ALS

1918

oratory at
and 13th
have been
in a large
‘smears, all
cteriological
s or foreign

number of
t determina-
y been made

they were,
eful.
iplex during
appearances
ide of large
to 48 hours,
rococci, and
Unhappily

ater number

a dangerous
mortal, both
isting power
. This last

number of
its tendency
ion that the
emy of the

APPENDIX 383

ee)

wounded, and among the different infections of wounds
it has claimed the greatest number of victims. In the
extremely interesting discussions which have arisen in
connection with the study of gas gangrene (Weinberg),
the streptococcus, perhaps because of its
character, has taken quite a secondary place.
natural, however, to wonder whether such a germ, so
dangerous by itself, and so constantly present in gas
gangrene, does not contribute enormously, by association,
to the gravity of toxic and infectious phenomena of this
complication of war wounds.

The hemolytic streptococcus (and the examination
seems to be of the most value when it is made with the
blood of the respective patient) is the most virulent and
the most rapidly mortal. The hmolytic character does
not appear, however, to be sufficiently specific to serve for
the perfect identification of a specimen.

Of less importance, but in the Same order of ideas, |
attribute a character of special gravity to the strepto-
coccus where minute cocci form very short chains of
5 to 7 in number both in smears and culture.

I find it specially interesting here to report that in a
certain number of cases of septicemia, almost hopeless,
repeated injections of Leclainché and Vallée polyvalent
serum have given excellent results,

Between 21st March 1918 and 24th September 1918,
out of 18 positive blood cultures 15 were streptococcal in
origin. Of these, 7 recovered and 8 were fatal.

' La Gangrine gazeuse, Weinberg et Séguin. Paris, 1918.

elusive
It seems

384. SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

GIRTON AND NEWNHAM UNIT

(SALONIKA, 1915-1918)

MenpicaL Cases

Malaria

Bronchitis—acute, 76; chronic, 308

Chronic dyspepsia .
Scurvy
Rheumatism
Dysentery

Enteritis :
Epidemic influenza
Gastritis 5
Epidemic jaundice
Exhaustion and debility
Pneumonia .
Pleurisy

Heart disease
Phthisis

Nephritis
Paratyphoid
Sciatica :
Laryngitis and tonsilitis
Malaria with scurvy
Shellshock .
Lumbago
Tapeworm .
Eczema

Typhoid

Meningitis .
Sunstroeke

Dilated stomach
Asthma

Dengue

Cystitis

Diphtheria .
Scarlet fever
Tubercular peritonitis

7
6
5
5
J
4
4
]
I

In the winter of 1915-1916 the main numb

medical cases admitted to Hospital complained of g
symptoms, with bronchitis and rhicumatism—the r

NIT

Ce Ce ee nA

number of
ed of gastric
—the resuil:

hav

APPENDIX

arduous campaign and the
Many suffered from exhaustion
misére ph ystologique,

A number suffered from repeated attacks of fe
a relapsing or intermittent type, lasting
for each attack. No definite

385
of the

retreat from Serbia.
and general weakness—

ver of
about three days
diagnosis could be given:
of influenza. Tests for
€r suspected conditions
symptoms did not resemble
It was included under the cl

the symptoms resembled those
paratyphoid (A and B) and oth
were negative. The
of trench fever,

those
assification

€ majority of the medical
umatism,

raine

In the summer
d to its uttermost to

country. During July,
cases of malaria alone were admitted ;
of dysentery and enteritis, and a large Number of
epidemic jaundice. Many of the cases of malaria were
complicated with meningitis and delirium,

During the autumn,
medical cases consisted

Over 200 Cases

winter, and Spring, the few
of bronchitis and recurrent
ng full of surgical patients,
a very marked im-
troops. Precautions
her epidemic diseases
at practical value. During the
33 cases of malaria were
definite increase in the
disease, but a marked

Special hospitals for dysentery and skin affections
w' Cases Were po longer
tary hospitals,

ing now been inaugurated, su
admitted to the generai mili
25

386 scOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

In the winter of 1917-1918 the Hospital was evacu
ated and the equipment removed to a much larger an
better site. The Staff were busily employed in helpin
with the preparation of the ground and disposal «
equipment. It was opened early in April with a
additional two hundred beds for the treatment of orth
padic patients.

In the months of April and May of 1918, 184 cas
of scurvy, occurring among the Serbian troops, we
treated.

In the autumn, 122 cases of epidemic influenza we
treated, details of which are as follows :

EPIDEMIC INFLUENZA

From the 1st of October until 31st of Decemb
122 cases were nursed in +e wards. Of these, 74 W
admitted suffering frou. fluenza: nationality mai
French. Nodeaths. Six.-en were admitted complica
with pneumonia. Of these, 7 died.

Among the surgical cases in Hospital, 24 contrac
influenza. Of these, 5 had pneumon':. No dea
Eight cases occurred among the Serbian orderlies ;
complications or deaths.

122

Total number of cases

Death-rate . 5'7 per cent.

These figures show the value of nursing in influe
as the deaths only occurred among those admitted w
the disease was already complicated with pneumonia

MORTALITY OF MEDICAL CASES

Total number = 50

Pneumonia . , ; 9
Malaria with cardiac complications 8
Dysentery 9
Phthisis 5

Enteritis

‘S

5 evacu-
‘ger and
helping
posal of
with an
of ortho-

184 cases
Ips, were

2nza were

Yecember,
>, 74 were
ty mainly
ymplicated

contracteu
Jo deaths.
lerlies ; no

122
yer cent.
n influenza,
itted where
umonia.

ino nv

APPENDIX

Malaria with meningitis
Gastro-enteritis

Malaria with peritonitis
Paratyphoid

Typhoid ,
Pleurisy and myocarditis
Scurvy

Nephritis ,
Jaundice. ;
Acute alcoholic poisoning

JURGICA
Tota! sun
Injury of head, face <k—

Wounds of fs fract: re
W ounds of Sut |
Wounds of ja fracture
Wounds of ja ut fractore
Injuries of ew
Erysipelas of e

Cellulitis of : ;
Haematoma «of neck
Anthrax of meck

Injury of shoulder —

Wounds with fract
Wounds w out fra
Fracture > clavic!:
Fractur scap 4

Injury of che

Wounds of chest
Fracture of ribs

Injury of back—

Wounds
Wounds with fra: ture
Wounds with paraly

Injury of abdomen—

Wounds

Injury of arm—

Wounds with fracture
Wounds without fract re
Bruise

Sprain

Injury of hand—

Wounds with fractures
Wounds without fractures

CASES

2733

oF
es)
“NI

388 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

Injury of pelvis—

Wounds with fractures : ; ; : : 4
Wounds witnout fractures . ; . 6
Bruise ‘ , PF , ; ‘ ; 2
Injury of thigh
Wounds with fractures , ‘ . 928
Wounds without fractures , . 139
Fracture ; , ‘ : F : . 14
Abscess . : . : : : rome 3
Bruise . , ‘ ' ‘ 4
Injury of knee—
Wounds with fractures ; ; ; 100
Wounds without fractures . ; P ; ~ “BE
Hydrosynovitis - ‘ : P ; ; 5
Synovitis . , : ‘ : : ELS
Injury of leg—
Wounds with fractures ; ‘ : 2 859
Wounds without fractures . : : ; . 170
Fracture. ‘ ‘ : P : é 7
Bruise ‘ : : i ; a
oprain 20
Injury of foot—
Wounds with fractures , ; 7 eS
Wounds without fractures . : ; ‘ 373
Bruise : : ‘ : ; ‘ ' 9
Frozen feet—
Both feet. ‘ ‘ 3 j ; Me 1G
One foot . é , ‘ - ; 5
Hands and feet ‘ : ; : ‘ I
Wounds of scrotum , : ‘ : a ot
Appendicitis . : ‘ : . : AG:
Hernia ‘ ; * ; : ; - Papuan 3
Hydrocele . : ; ‘ : : : : 4
Burns ‘ : : ; , ; : 5 oo Zi
a8 Varicose veins - ; : ; : : . 4
to Hemorrhoids ‘ : ; c ; ‘ . Fd
if Orchitis ; 5 4
ti Enlarged cervical and axillary glands. j : ye
ii Fistula in ano : : ; ; ; ; A
a Ischio rectal abscess 5
3 Acute cystitis i ; : : : ee 56
4 Periostitis of foot 3
Tumour of face I

O.thonedic cases « , ‘ : : : . 343

These cases have been classified according to

ing to the

APPENDIX

severity of the wound in the part affected.
number of cases had multiple wounds or fractu
the most severe injury is taken for classification.

A large
res; but

OPERATIONS PERFORMED UNDER GENFRAL ANAESTHESIA

Removal of projectiles—
Head and face

37
Jaw 10
Neck F ‘ : 3
Shoulder - , , «26
Axilla , 3
Chest 44, includes removal of bullets
from arch of aorts ‘ngs,
diaphragm, under clavi-
cle, under scapula, pleural
Cavity, chest wall
Back, ‘ ; 3
Abdomen I
Arm go
Hand 44
Pelvis . 8
Thigh . 58
Knee 29
Leg go
Foot 39

Incision, cleansing, and drainage for sepsis—

Head and face 33, includes trephining

Jaw 16

Neck . 8

Shoulder 72

Axilla ‘ i : z

Chest . : : P - 36, includes excision of ribs,
portion of clavicle, and
cases of empyema

Back . : : ; 12

Abdomen 6

Arm _ , ; ; : . 8

Hand . i ‘ : ae 280

Pelvis . : 3

Thigh and groin 42

Knee 67

Leg 83

Foot 31

Scrotum

390 SCOTTISH
Amputations—

Thigh .

Leg
Foot
Knee
Hand
Fingers

WOMEN’S

Ligature of vessels for heemorrhage—

Femoral artery
a5 vein .
Brachial
Axillary
Tibial .
Popliteal
Temporal
Plating of bone—
Clavicles
Femur .

Mastoid for septic wounds

Enucleation of eye
Cataract extraction

Incision of ischio rectal abscess :
Stretching and cauterisation of anal fissure

Hemorrhoids removal
Varicose veins
Hydrocele

Hernia

Appendix

Removal of cervical glands
Removal of axillary glands

Delayed primary suture of wounds of:

Arm
Leg

Stretching and repair of fractures of

Arm

Wrist

Hand

Leg

Foot ;

Removal of tumours of—

Face

Arm

Wrist

HOSPITALS

A ; for gangrene of leg
3 for hemorrhage
ey 1 for sepsis of knee jo
(1 for hemorrhage
\4 for sepsis
2 for sepsis
2 for sepsis
2 for sepsis
bo for heemorrhage, gangre
and sepsis

4 lacerated wounds

pore

Ww Ww vd

low
o

— om nai" at
Y= OWuUwm AN + =

s APPENDIX

Hand I

Leg 3
tite Foot 3
f knee joint Scrotum I
hage

Total number of operations — 1344

A large number of minor operations are not included,
as they were performed under local anaesthesia for the

removal of projectiles superficially placed, or for in-
cisions on account of sepsis.

se, gangrene,

nds

MORTALITY OF SURGICAL CASES

Deaths from shock—
Wounds of head

; 5
Wounds of abdomen !
Wounds of chest and kidney I
Wounds of chest I
Wounds of arm and thigh : 1
Laceration of femoral vessels ; : I

Injury of face and jaw (died of edema glottidis). Tracheotomy I

was performed

Wounds of abdomen (died of acute general peritonitis); no i

operation ; exhausted

Fracture and acute sepsis of pelvis ; cleaned and drained '

Fracture and paralysis of spine ; no operation as exhausted I

Peritonitis after cellulitis of thigh ‘incisions and drainage) : I

Acute sepsis after ligature of femoral vessels and removal of

pieces of projectile

Embolus after amputation of thigh for gangrene of leg 1

Exhaustion from wound of shoulder and frozen feet: wound I

cleaned and drained
Dysentery, complicating septic : : :
Compound fracture of leg. Wound was cleaned and drained

Total number of deaths = 19.

Of these, ten were operated upon after admission into hospital.

Three of the cases of head wounds had been tre-
phined in the dressing-station, and were admitted
unconscious. One was trephined in hospital while
unconscious, but died twenty-four hours later. Pieces
of projectile were extracted from the wounds of arm and
thigh, but death occurred later from exhaustion. The

392 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

wounds of chest and kidney and one of chest were to
exhausted for operative interference. In case of laceré
tion of femoral vessels amputation was performed.

CALCUTTA ORTHOPADIC CENTRE

Inaugurated on 7th May 1918, and consists of
Staff of trained masseuses from various orthoped
centres in Britain, numbering eight, with two assistant
The work is carri.d out in a hut fitted up with mecan
therapy appliances, such as rowing-machines, wheel
pulleys, bars, trapeze, bicycle, ete. Dumb-bells and Indiz
clubs are used for the open-air exercises in the spor
ground. Various electrical appliances are also employe
such as faradic and galvanic batteries, high frequenc
hot air, and radiant heat baths with various colour
lichts. A complete hydro-therapeutic hut has just be
dispatched from Scotland which on erection will cons
of whirlpool and aerated baths, pool baths, douch
sprays, and various limb baths. This hut will not
erected until the Hospital is moved into Serbia.

The work of the department has been mainly t
treatment of indoor patients, but out-patients ha
also been sent; but their treatment, owing to t
difficulty of transport, has not been continuous, and
has been found much more satisfactory to admit |
cases into Hospital. The patients are sent for spec
‘reatment from other French hospitals and also fr
the Serbian depots, and the supply has had to
limited owing to the difficulty of treating a la:
number.

The results of the work have been most encourag
and, although the department was mainly direc
towards the treatment of disabled Serbian soldiers,

vere too
f lacera-

sts of a
thopzedic
ssistants,
mecano-
_ wheels,
id Indian
1e sports
mployed,
equency,
coloured
just been
ill consist
douches,
ll not be

ainly the
nts have
x to the
1s, and it
admit the
or special
also from
ad to be

a large

\couraging
, directed
idiers, the

APPENDIX 393

French wounded have taken very great advantage of it.
It is the only orthopedic department for French and
Serbian patients in the Eastern Army.

The patients are treated with hot-water limb baths
or radiant heat and massage. Passive and active move-
ments and exercises are employed with or without the
use of the mechanical apparatus. Open-air drill, parallel
bars, etc., are arranged for the more convalescent
patients, and football games are held for those suffering
from injuries of the arms.

The patients take an extraordinary amount of interest
in the work and are most anxious to help on with the
treatment. Curative workshops have been set up, and
there the men continue the treatment of exercising their
limbs while at the same time producing work. Carpenters’
shops have proved of great value, and the work of
these is graded to suit the particular disablement of the
patient. There is a tinsmith’s and metal worker's depart-
ment, bookbinding, photo-framing, wood-carving, and
embroidery. A valuable department is the making of
splints and also of orthopedic boots. In the latter
workshop several men have become expert work-
men. There have been no expert teachers, and the
work has been carried on under many difficulties, but
there are a number of Serbian men who have become
well trained in their various branches. It is hoped soon
to start a special workshop for the supply of permanent
artificial limbs, as only temporary peg legs are made at
present.

From May until the end of the year 1918, 426
patients were treated in the department. The number
of massage treatments was 17,823, and of faradic
treatments, 2543.

The electrical light baths did not arrive until the end
of July, and since that time 2470 baths have been given.

394 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

The following is a table of the injuries treated :

Injury of shoulder, axilla, and chest
Wounds with contraction
Wounds with fractures
Fracture of clavicle.
Synovitis of shoulder

Injury of arm—
Wounds with contraction
Wounds with fractures
Fracture with nerve injuries
Fracture without wounds
Injury of elbow—
Wounds without fracture
Wounds with fracture
Sprain
Injury of wrist—
Wounds with contraction
Wounds with fractures
Nerve injury
Synovitis
Injury of hand—
Wounds with contraction
Wounds with fractures
Synovitis
Burn
Injury of thigh—
Wounds with contraction
Wounds with fracture
Wounds with flat foot
Wounds with nerve injury .
Synovitis of hip-joint
Injury of knee—
Hydrothrosis
Synovitis
Hemorrhage
Ankylosis . ;
Wound with contraction
Injury of leg —
Wound with contraction

Wound with fractures—both bones
Fibula with nerve injury
Fibula with flat foot .
Tibia with nerve injury
Tibia with flat foot

Wound with nerve injury

ws wt >

Cn & Us

ad :

Cn & ue

APPENDIX

Injury of foot and ankle—
Wounds with contraction
Wounds with fractures
Synovitis of ankle with flat foot

Miscellaneous—
Fracture of jaw
Wounds of neck
Contraction from burns :
Amputation of arm—treatment of stump .
” leg
ie foot
Lumbago
Rheumatism
Kyphosis
Sciatica
Frozen feet .
Cardiac conditions .
Central paralysis
Hemorrhage after scurvy
Intestinal toxemia .

” sy ”

t2 2 Ws Go = te 1 LD

Ny Or

Each patient on admission to the department was
examined under X-rays and a record kept of the condi-
tions found.

Operations are performed in the operating hut
belonging to the Hospital.

DentTaL DEPARTMENT

A Dental Department was added to the Hospital in
May 1918, and very valuable work was done under a
qualified woman dentist. Out-patients were treated as
well as inmates of the Hospital and Staff. There were
in the period from 3rd June 1918 to the end of that
year, 572 extractions, 820 fillings, and much other treat-
ment—the total number of attendances being 1714.

396 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

CORSICA

The work of the Manchester and District Federatic
Unit in Corsica differed from that of all the oth
hospitals in that it approached more nearly to that of
small general hospitcl with a large and wide-spread ou
patient department.

The Hospital consisted of 60 beds, which we
divided into 40 male and 20 female. Gynecological ar
maternity cases were also admitted, and this branch
the work proved itself invaluable.

Every day large numbers of patients attended tl
out-patient clinique, and the medical officers or the vis
ing Sister visited at their own homes those patients wl
so desired.

The total number of patients treated in the Hospit
from its opening in January 1916 to its final evacuati
in April 1919, was 1704. The total number of ot
patients, 15,515. Total deaths 88, and total births 79.

The greater number of the cases were purely medic:
but, although the surgical work was not so prominent
feature as in the other Scottish Women’s Hospitals, a ve
complete smal! theatre was equipped which did excec
ingly useful and varied work. There were perform
in all 72 major operations and 40 minor.

There was a notable preponderance of chest con
tions among the medical cases — doubtless in lar
measure owing to the privations of the Great Retre
and to the impossibility of providing sufficiently hygie
housing conditions on the island. The special prev
ence of tuberculosis among the Serbs ‘as already be
pointed out, and these cases numbered no fewer th
314. They showed, moreover, a steady increase:
were admitted in 1916; 125 in 1917; 130 in 19)

-deration
he other
that of a
read out-

ch were
gical and
ranch of

ided the
the visit-
ents who

Hospital,
yacuation
r of out-
ths 79.

medical :
mminent a
ils, a very
d exceed-
erformed

2st condi-
in large
t Retreat
hygienic
il pre val-
ady been
wer than
rease : 51
in 19168,

APPENDIX 397

Many of the cases were of extreme severity, some being
admitted from the mainland in a moribund condition.
No fewer than half of the total deaths were occasioned
by pulmonary phthisis. Other chest conditions numbered
152, pneumonia and broncho-pneumonia accounting for
the larger proportion of these.

Malaria was also very frequent, accounting for 162
cases. Malaria has always beer, more or less of a scourge
in certain parts of Corsica, many villages in the southern
part of the island being perforce abandoned by their
inhabitants during the malarial season, The advent of
refugees and infected troops from the Armée d’Orient
did not improve matters, and the cases became frequent
and of a severe type. Indeed, the barracks of Chiavari,
where many Serbs were accommodated during 1916, had
to be closed down for this reason. For this reason also
it was found impossible to keep patients at the Lazaret.

MEDICAL AND NURSING UNIT
TYPHOID EPIDEMIC, CALAIS, 1914-1915

The Medical Unit lent by the S.W.H. to the
Belgians in 1914, had charge of 50 beds in Dr.
Depage’s Hospital. The notes and records of this
work were the property of the Belgian Authorities and
are not available.

As the Belgian Army was at that time uninoculated
(inoculation was commenced during the epidemic) the
cases were, with very few exceptions, of great severity,
and the majority on arrival were already in the second
or even the third week of the disease. Our mortality
(13 per cent.) was high in comparison with an

398 SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HOSPITALS

average typhoid mortality, but not high when cor
pared with the average mortality during that particul
epidemic.

Complications were present in many cases on arriy
—complications such as grave heart failure, pneumon
intestinal hemorrhage, gangrene, etc.

OSTROVO RECORDS

SKOTCHIVAR DRiSSING-STATION

The Dressing-Station at Skotchivar admitted patie
from 4th January 1917 to 14th September 1917, dur
which time one hundred and fifty-two (152) patie
were admitted to hospital. They consisted of 144 su
cal cases and 8 medical cases. The number of de:
was 16.

DIAGNOSIS OF PATIENTS ADMITTED

September to December 1916 (new style)

Bi octh Surgical. ,Dysentery. Malaria. Hernia. bot
|
, September. | 233 I 7 24
October. ; , 181 5 3 1
| November . : Bee it! bron “Pe 3
| December . : : ay 6

Total “51 ie ge es 3 5

en com-
particular

yn arrival
eumonia,

-d patients
17, during
) patients
144 surgi-
of deaths

)
‘nia. Dota
241
189
2 99
6
5 | 535

APPENDIX

399

DIAGNOSIS OF PATIENTS ADMITTED

1917 (New Style)

Month.

Surgical, Malaria. Hernia

January

February 30 2 38
March 63 ; ae 3 66
April . 80 2 ne ak $3
May . : 79 t es 4 84
June . 28 $e et Pe Were 2
July. 48 7 a4 6 65
August , : 24 16 a 6 64
September 2 83 6 1 117
October. 26 «| Jo; 6 6 139
November . 44 88 5

December .

January to October 1918 (New Styje

Ober

Month, Surgical. Malaria. Medical,

Hernia.

Total.

January

February

March

April .

May .

June .

July

August

September .

October

Totals

- 247 | 503 36 205 1133

Sntthe eatin *

7
#
4
i

4oo SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

RECORD OF DEATHS
(Calendar—New Style)

Diagnosis
1916 . ; . 75 Surgical
1917. 22 Malaria
1918 6 Other medical .
Total . ~ 0% Total

NATIONALITY OF PATIENTS WHO DIED IN OSTR

Serbian ; 91 Macedonian
French 1 Turkish
Russian. ; ’ 5 Arab
Bulgarian I

Total

TABLE SHOWING NUMBER OF OPERATIONS PERFO]
AT OSTROVO

From September 1916 to October 1919

Number
Description. Performed. Description.
Abscess of groin. , . 12 Hernia
e hip 4 : . to Hydrocele
ey neck ; ; . I§ Jawcase . :
Amputation of arm . j : 4 Ligaturing of femoral artery
ag breast 2 FA popliteal arter
ji feet ; 8 Mastoids .
3 fingers. . 20 Plating bone
Si hand. i 4 Re-amputation.
i leg 8 Rectal fistula
3 thigh. F . 10 Removal of foreign bodies
¥ toes . : a, 42 x tonsils .
Appendicitis. ; : é 4 is tumour .
Bomb wounds . : ‘ . 38 . varicose veins
Bullet wounds . 4 ; . 18 Repairing and scraping of
Cancer of lower lip . , : 2 wounds
5 tongue. : : 2 Re-section of humerus
Circumcision . : ! : 8 Sequestrum removed
Compound fractures : . 26 Shrapnel wounds
Curettage of old wounds . . 24 Skin grafting
Drainage of bladder : ; 6 Spinal case
as knee. : . 16 Strangulated kersia.
Empyema : : : . 10 Tendinotomy
Excision of eye 4 Tracheotomy a:
5 testicle . : . 1§ ‘Trephining (depressed |
Goitre : : 3 ture of skull)
Hemorrhoids : 7 A Total number of operat

Hemotoma . ; : , 8

TALS

103

N OSTROVO

3
I
I
al " + 103

PERFORMED

Number
Performed

ralartery . 6

teal artery . ‘4
4

d ; ee 28
1bodies . 80
: 6
ae - ~ 3
se veins ‘ 9

aping of old 390

erus
38
‘ed : re
je
14
1
1a. .
6
, : 4
: f
essed frac- )

of onerations 1004

APPENDIX
VRANJA RECORDS

In addition to the work mentioned
panying reports the doctors of the
Hospital, Vranja, had to do the fol
other medical officers were in the
months after the ay

401

in the accom.

Scottish Women's
lowing work, as no
Vranja district for six
val of the Hospital :

1. Visit and inspect the Bulsarian prisoners’ camps
within a radius of thirty miles, uyvest Improvements,
and vive medical advice.

2, Act as Medical |
cruited for the army
service,

‘xaminine Officer for men re-
and those no longer fit for military

3. All civilian work in town and district.

j- Sit on medical boards to decide what leave should
be granted to convalescent patients; and latterly

5. To open and run an outpost and dispensary at
Vranski Banja.

Unfortunately no statistics for the
available, and it is difficult to estimate
patients were thus attended.

above work are
how many hundred

DIAGNOSIS OF PATIENTS ADMITTED
From 30th October 118 to xoth

CO HOSPITAL
Apri? to19

Influenza

Malaria .

Typhus

Pneumonia, — bron- 69
chitis, and tuber-

culosis

Surg al.

102 3} 44) 42; 39! 551 48) 37! 470
Other medical ‘ 68 6° | 2021135 154) 73) 103| 83] 828
Totals : : $50 3+ | 549) 399 324) 222 329 284) 2588

Se ee
26

Tae

jO2

DIAG

/ per
Luarit

Influenza

Malaria

Pyphus

Pneumonia and bron haat
I nbere ulosis

Diarrhaa and dysentery
Surgical

Other medical

Totals

NATIONALITY OF

From 30th Oct

serbian soldiers — . TY
Serbian civilians. 17
British ¢
French 13
Russian .
Austrian ‘ ‘ 74
German . A 30
Bulgar ‘s
Purkish
italian
(sree)

"ey

tHe,

PATIENTS

NOSIS OF PATIENTS ADMITTED

Very,

md fur

May
5
2
i)
oO
+7
4t
165
ADMIT:
1% fa 300/t
\ 1)
174 100
145
20 31
131 I
33 |
|
16 a
fog 13
5
i
549 399

Oty

rED

] y
Apri 1919

Pe
‘07
4) 126
ot| 31
Q -
8 s
fey 3
-
12
4
Pll 5?
I
} so

SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

rO HOSPITAL

HOSPIE:

PITAL

Pot
10
' 62
)

2} 47 25

7 | 3 ‘9

|
1 1S

| Wr
|
|

y2 1) 125 74
}
{

APPENDIX

NATIONALITY

OF PATIENTS ADMITTED TO HOSPITA]

Daring May, June, and July ‘ro

Nationality

Serbian soldiers

Serbian civilians

Bulgarians
j

British
Roumanian

Totals

OPERATIONS PERFORMED IN \ RANJA
From November 1918 to April 1919

Description.

Witt .

Porforme
Amputation of arm. » F Heemotoma 1
s breast . . . 2 ‘Hernia 4
Ps fingers - 16 Tydrocele ; ¢
s h ind * ‘ I Laparotomy 7
3 leg Matstoids }
<4 thigh . : » & Plastie perations ongenital
” toes. : 19 finlers . 3
Appendix abscess j tr Re-a ItALIONS 6
Bomb wounds. : é 19 Fecal fistula 5
Bullet wounds . $8 Removal of foreseen be 15
Cancer ‘ ; } to 3
Compound fractures . : 4 +s tumour. ~ $8
Drainage of bladder - » § Repair of wounds : 10
” knee A ; 9 Removal of sequestrum 10
Empyema , ; ; : + 4 Skin graftin 3
Excision of eye 3. Stransulated hernia ood
” Be vlands - p 30 T.L. abscess of neck . é % t4
5 testicle. : - 9 T.B. hips ite)
Exploring chest . F oa eal
Hemorrhoids . | C : ! fotal number of operations . 274

}

yoy SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

OPERATIONS PERFORMED DURING tHE MONTH OF

Description.

Anaputation of foot

” leg

45 toes
Bomb wounds F
Excision of T.B. ghind

T le
” testicle

OPERATIONS PE

Prescription

Exploring chest .

Excision of 1.5. gland

Croitre .
Laparotomy
Removal of cancer from

OPERATION
Descriptio
Abscess of hip
”
Amputation of fingers
oe toes
Bomb wounds
Drainave of T.1
Excision of T.B. plands
” testicle
Hernia
Laparotomy
Liver abscess
Operation for talipes
varus

)

MAY

REOKMED

Qty

De cription,

Exploring chest .

Laparotomy

Removal of sequestra
es shrapnel .

Repair of woun Is

Total number of operauois .

DURING THE MONTH OF

JUNE TGI9g

»
FOR
p
equino

ANE he
Description. Flas tactha

Rkemoval of shrapnel
Repair of wounds
T.B. abscess of buttock

T.LB. abscess of hip

Votal number of operation

MONTH OF JULY 1919

1) ript . 1
Piastic operation — ( oneenital
hand
Plating of tibia
Removal of bullet
” cysts
os foreign bodies
Removal of large goitre (malg-
nant)
Removal of shrapnel .
si tumours
Repairing of old wounds
Spina binda

‘Total number of operations .

APPENDIX

RECORD OF DEATHS

Showing Cause of Death of Patients who di @ from October 1918
fo April iy19

Diagnosis. Oct. Nov. Dec. | Jan, Pet. March. | April. Totals, |

Influenza and
pneumonia

Typhus

Medical

Surgical ;

Brought dead to
hospital, or
died soon after
admission

Pe |

|
|
|
|
|

Totals

Influenza and pneumonia
Typhus

Tuberculosis

Surgical ;

Other medical .

Totals

wing Nidionality of Patients who died in Hospital from
October 1918 to April 1919.

Nationality. Oct. Nov. De Feb. April. | Totals.

Serbs
British
French
Austrian
Bulgars

Serb, (civil.)

rations . Totals

406 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Nationality of Patients who died in Hospital from
May to July 1910

APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF OUT-PATIENTS TREATED

From November 1918 to Apri! 191
}

November 1918. ; : : : : 562
December ,, : i ; , ‘ : 748
January 1919 . : ‘ ; ‘ : 900
February Fe : ‘ : ‘ : : 1090
March ses ; : : : é 1118
April a 2 ; : ~ ; ; 1000

Approximate total ; > 5418

OUT-PATIENTS TREATED
Front ist May to 31st July 1919

May 1919 120
June ,, : : j : 3 ; 2331
July, 394

Total for 3 months ; P 5845

N.B.—Previous to this date similar returns were n
taken in the Out-patients’ Department.

VRANJA,
2nd August 1919.

APPENDIX

A SERBIAN TRANSLATION OF ARTICLE WHICH
APPEARED IN THE BELGRADE ZVZNING NE IVS,

PG
| ps 17th FEBRUARY 1919.
| 23 ALL that our newspapers in Salonika have written about the work of the
| Foreign Missions attached to our Army ; all that has been pointed out as to
115 their kindness in helping the sick and wounded Serbian soldiers so un-
plement grudgingly; all that has been said of the way in which they have alleviated
| 8 the sufierings and spiritual pain of the bereaved families in our enslaved
——— atherland, inspiring ever hope for a better future after the terrible events
our people have survived during this War—even all this is insufficient to
adequately illustrate the great gratitude of the Serb. Now, when the
SATED bloodiest tragedy in the history of mankind is at an end, when some of the
missions are even now pre to depart for their Fatherland, after having
so conscientiously rendered the service for which they came, let us be
562 permitted to mention the work oi t h Women’s Hospital at Vranja,
748 for to do sois but right. In the days when bloody battles were in progress
goo at Gornichevo and other heights above the village of Ostrovo, the Hospital
1090 installed itself there, below the vidage, close to the lake of the same name,
ris It was situated in a beantitul and romantic spot,
1000 dred years old, lying in the hollow of three hills,
os 1 be seen a beautiful view of the lake, with the fields
5418 the heights surrounding it, with many little villages,
— Nandrovo, picture y dotted about. The personnel of
of three doctors, an administrator, secretary, and
forty-six Sisters. ‘Phe first Commanaing Officer was Dr. Bennett; then
came Dr. de Garis, who in her turn was succeeded by the present head,
Dr. Emshe.
1120 The administration was worthy of praise, and never changed with the
3271 change of Commanding Officers ; on the contrary, it developed and improved
sae to such an extent that our sick seldiers grew ever more and more eager to
—_ visit the Scottish Women’s Hospital, feeling simply happy wherever they
5845 were, when told they were to be evacuated for that Hospital. The sanitary
ee

tenderness of the Sisters, the love that was displayed towards everybody for
fully two years—all that shall be an unbesmirched memory to every Serbian

were not
soldier who lay il! at that Hospital, for all that gave him strength and
encouragement to endure in the terrible struggle in which he suffered so
much. After the successful be;inning and development of our last offensive
on the Salonika front, the Sccttish Women’s Hospital was given orders to
proceed to Vranja, to continue its work there, and arrived on the 16th
of October (Old Style) of that year. The enemy, being confounded by the
course of events that were developing with flashlike rapidity, was in retreat,
leaving everything behind him in the greatest disorder and filthiness.
Vranja Army Barracks was steeped in muddy filth. The Second Drina

408 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS

Dressing Station, which after the battle took both our and the ener
wounded and sick soldiers, had neither the time nor the means to bring
hospital into working order, but as soon as the mission arrived, it vave i
untiring to work. It was wonderful to observe how all, from the Co
ing Officer down to the last Serbian orderly, busied themselves repai
and cleaning, besides attending to a great number of patients that v
already in hospital. Ina short time, out of the greatest chaos and distin
a wave of the grea ‘st order and cleanliness swept over. When taking
consideration that Vranja is the transit place through which, not on
great many of the Serbian soldiers who were in hospitals, convales
camps, ete., had to pass, but also the rear of the Serbian and part of
Allied armies, and that in Vrania itself, as clsewhere in Serbia, there wa
epidemic of intluenza and other diseases, it will be realised how great
the effort required to overcome such a colossal amount of work. Itis.
necessary to let the figures speak for themselves.

The mission undertook her work on the t7th (Old Style, October
year. There were then about 450 patients in the Hospital. From the
October to the 28th December over 1ooo patients entered the Hospital,

a similar number were discharged. In addition to this, over 2300 civil
were medically examined and treated in the Out-patient Department, As
be seen, the numerical circulation of patients obviously proves that
mission accepted her work with all enthusiasm and carried out her dutie
a manner that appeared to be beyond the bounds of possibility. To
O.C. of the Hospital, Dr. Emslie, “our little doctor,” as she is usually cat
ingly called by us, and to Dr. Blake and Dr. Mackenzie, who never fe
anything and never spared themselves; to Mrs. Green, who has inde
the Serbian nation with her work and her pood deeds since the time o:
fights at Shabats up to the present day; to Miss Saunders, who n
spared her tender health about the installation of order in the Hospital

Miss Barker, sanitary inspector, whose ability and uprightness in ren
ing sanitary the appalling conditions prevailing, admired by all; and t
sympathetic secretary, Miss Brown, who worked day and night, and man.
so well all the administrative business of the Hospital ; and to all Sisters
orderlies who, with real sisterly tenderness, have ministered to the sick
wounded Serbian soldiers—let there be eternsl thanks. Let their cou
be proud of them, for they are deserving of honour in full measure, anc
Serbian soldier shall remember them with yreat thankfulness.

A WARRIOR.

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN, IgI9, BY
MORRISON AND) GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGIT

the enemy’s
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